An Exploration of a Beginning Undergraduate Music Student Conducting with Expressivity by Alexander Minh Wimmer B.M., University

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An exploration of a beginning undergraduate music student conducting with expressivity

Alexander Minh Wimmer

B.M., University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2007 M.M., Kansas State University, 2014

AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Curriculum and Instruction College of Education

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas

2017

Abstract

One of the most important roles of a conductor is to prepare an ensemble to perform, not only accurately but expressively, utilizing physical gestures and facial expressions. For many music students, the development of physical gestures that elicit expressive performance are typically introduced in a beginning undergraduate conducting course. This is important in establishing a framework for understanding the technical aspects of conducting, considering that many beginning student conductors lack a basic comprehension of conducting fundamentals.

However, the interpretative and expressive principles of conducting are equally important as basic technique and are often more difficult to teach to undergraduate students.

There is an overwhelming amount of gestural skill that should be experienced and explored by a beginning undergraduate conductor. Despite a students’ best efforts in the classroom and in the practice room, expressive conducting skills that represent internal musical intentions remain a primary challenge with novice conducting students. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of a beginning undergraduate conductor as they learned to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expression. Through case study, exploring the experiences of an undergraduate music student enrolled in a beginning conducting course from a Midwestern university exposed valuable information that could become helpful when designing instruction. The findings addressed the research questions of the study and revealed additional aspects of the learning experience from the perspective of the participant. Through reflection, navigation of self, guided video elicitation, discussion of expressive conducting, and acknowledgement of prior musical expectations and intent, the participant discovered the differences between their perceived expressive gestures and the realization of an audible response from an ensemble.

An exploration of a beginning undergraduate music student conducting with expressivity

Alexander Minh Wimmer

B.M., University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2007 M.M., Kansas State University, 2014

A DISSERTATION

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Curriculum and Instruction College of Education

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas

2017

Approved by:

Major Professor Frederick Burrack

Abstract

However, the interpretative and expressive principles of conducting are equally important as basic technique and are often more difficult to teach to undergraduate students.

Table of Contents

List of Figures ...... x Acknowledgements ...... xi Dedication ...... xiii Preface...... xiv Chapter 1 - Need for the Study ...... 1 Introduction ...... 1 Rationale ...... 4 Research Purpose ...... 6 Research Questions ...... 6 Definitions and Terms ...... 7 Theoretical Framework ...... 9 Methodology ...... 10 Limits, Possibilities, and Assumptions of the Study ...... 10 Chapter 2 - Review of the Literature ...... 13 Introduction ...... 13 Conducting ...... 13 Conducting with Musical Expressivity ...... 13 Conducting Skill Development/Curriculum: ...... 17 Teaching Expressiveness ...... 20 Perception ...... 22 Music Perception...... 22 Gestalt Perception ...... 25 Perception and Conducting ...... 26 Music Influencing Culture ...... 27 Interpretivism ...... 31 Symbolic Interactionism ...... 32 Chapter Summary ...... 35 Chapter 3 - Methodology and Procedures ...... 36 Introduction ...... 36

vi Methodology ...... 37 Pilot Study...... 37 Research Design ...... 38 Participant Selection ...... 38 Research Site ...... 39 Researcher Role ...... 39 Data Collection Methods ...... 39 Video Elicitation ...... 40 Interview Protocol ...... 40 Field Observations ...... 44 Journal Reflections ...... 45 Data Management ...... 45 Data Analysis ...... 47 In Vivo Coding...... 47 Initial (Open) Coding ...... 48 Focused Coding...... 49 Creative Non-Fiction...... 50 Reciprocity and Ethics ...... 51 Trustworthiness and Rigor ...... 52 Chapter 4 - Jane’s Story ...... 54 Introduction ...... 54 Prologue ...... 54 First Space ...... 56 Enter The Classroom...... 56 To Go or Not To Go, Is It A Question? ...... 56 Conducting...... 58 Teacher Feedback...... 59 The Rest Of The Class...... 60 Second Space ...... 62 Second Conducting Evaluation...... 62 Let’s Get This Over With...... 62

vii Preparatory...... 63 Beat Patterns...... 63 Prep & Release...... 64 Left Hand...... 64 Fractional Beat Preps...... 65 Divided Meters...... 66 Interpretation...... 66 Fermata...... 66 Preparation and Rehearsal...... 67 Overall Effectiveness...... 67 Finally Done...... 68 Journaling ...... 68 Reflecting on the First Conducting Experience...... 68 Reflecting on the Second Conducting Experience...... 70 Reflecting on the Third Conducting Experience...... 73 Final Entry...... 76 Epilogue ...... 79 Chapter 5 - Discussion, Implications, and Recommendations ...... 81 Introduction ...... 81 Discussion of Findings: Research Questions ...... 82 Research Question 1...... 82 Research Question 2...... 84 Research Question 3...... 88 Discussion of Findings: Emerging Findings ...... 91 Self ...... 91 Conducting ...... 93 Others ...... 94 Implications and Recommendations ...... 96 Implications ...... 96 Guided Video Elicitation...... 96 Journaling...... 96

viii Discussing Expressive Conducting...... 97 Teaching Advanced Conducting to Learn Beginning Conducting Skills...... 97 Recommendations for Future Study ...... 98 Concluding Thoughts ...... 99 References ...... 102 Appendix A - Email Solicitation...... 111 Appendix B - Informed Consent ...... 112 Appendix C - Cooperating Instructor Protocol ...... 115 Appendix D - Data Collection Timeline ...... 116 Appendix E - Interview Protocol ...... 119 Appendix F - Beginning Undergraduate Conducting Course Self-Evaluation Form ...... 121 Appendix G - Field Observation Template ...... 123 Appendix H - Debriefing Statement ...... 124

ix List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Table of contents compellation from common beginning conducting textbooks...... 19 Figure 3.1 Data management chart...... 46 Figure 3.2 In Vivo coding example...... 47 Figure 3.3 Initial (open) coding example...... 48 Figure 3.4 Initial code spreadsheet example...... 49 Figure 3.5 Initial codes-themes spreadsheet...... 50

x Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like thank Jesus Christ, my lord and savior. I would not be who, what, where, and why I am without your unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace.

To Dr. Frank Tracz, thank you for taking a risk on me, allowing me to fail, and pushing me as hard as you push yourself. You have given me so many opportunities that have charged me to be the teacher, husband, father, and human I am today.

To Dr. Frederick Burrack, thank you for your mentorship, guidance, and patience. I would not have been able to complete this dissertation without your thoroughness, scholarship, and thoughtfulness.

To my committee, Dr. Frederick Burrack, Dr. Ruth Gurgel, Dr. Phillip Payne, Dr. Donald

Saucier, and Dr. Frank Tracz, thank you for your diligence, advice, and direction throughout the dissertation process.

To Mr. Don Linn, Ms. Courtney Grecu, Ms. Sarah Strole, and fellow KSU band GAs, thank you for your support, being a sounding board for my thoughts, and for a good laugh when I needed it.

To Dr. Kakali Bhattacharya, thank you for opening my world with qualitative research, revealing my bags and masks, and inspiring the real meaning of “acrostic art.”

To Dr. Erica Neidlinger, Dr. Tomm Roland, and Dr. James Saker, thank you for your encouragement and faith in my pursuit of graduate school, establishing the foundation of my teaching philosophy, and believing that I could become a college professor.

To Ms. Shawna Bothwell, Mr. Mark Irvin, Mr. Rob Lubbers, and Ms. Chris Tucker, thank you for inspiring me to become a music teacher. I am following in your footsteps because you first showed me the power of music and why it is essential to the human experience.

xi To Jasmine and Houston, thank you for doing what siblings do best; showing love and loyalty for one another while being rivals, mischievous, and anry.

To mom and dad, if you would not have adopted me, I would not be living in this great country, have the privilege to call myself an American, or the honor of calling myself your son.

Thank you for your unconditional love, your faith in me, and for moving mountains so that I could be a Wimmer.

To Addison and Anora, thank you for reminding me that there is more to life then work.

Daddy loves you so much and I cannot wait for a lifetime of snuggles, hugs, kisses, and laughs.

To my wife, your impeccable patience, never failing love, and endless support has gotten us through thick and thin. You are the only reason our family is alive and why I have been able to pursue my dreams. Thank you for being a shoulder to rest on, my partner in crime, and the love of my life. Anna, you are my only one.

xii Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to all of my former, current, and future students. You are the reason why this document exists, the reason why I push myself so hard, and the reason why I will continue to pursue the well-being of humanity.

Jane, thank you.

xiii Preface

The following dissertation is written in a conventional academic form with the exception of Chapter 4. Rather than presenting the findings in a traditional format, the researcher chose to present their findings as a creative non-fiction. This story is intended to place the reader in the mind of the participant as they experienced their beginning conducting course. This narrative uses the participant’s unique syntax, inflection, and voice to genuinely portray their experiences as they happened.

i Chapter 1 - Need for the Study

Introduction

Okay, so this was our first day of conducting this semester and we were asked to come up and conduct a piece. Thanks for preparing us for this and letting us know this was coming, NOT. Was this in the syllabus? I had, well...it doesn’t matter anymore. I was unprepared and not expecting to be the first called up to conduct. I knew that I was unprepared for this, I was called randomly and fair is fair. I was not expecting us to be called up on the first day. My score hadn’t been marked because I thought we would just be discussing things about conducting. MY MISTAKE!

After I heard my name announced to conduct, I quickly looked at my music to make it look like I knew what I was doing. Once I stepped onto the podium, I tried a few things just by myself to see if I could fake it. I just kind of thought, ‘Let’s get through this and I’ll notice more on the way.’ Maybe the teacher won’t even say anything. The ensemble looked just as scared as I felt about to conduct them.

I recall that I was, dare I say, in survival mode (chuckle). Just trying to beat through the music and trying to get through it, I had no idea what was going on with my left hand. I don’t remember if I had control over it all the way (laughter). But um, yea. I tried one crescendo, it did not work out that way I thought it would (chuckle). Oh and I got called out, hardcore…on the very first day of class. Yep, that was fun.

So I tried to make the crescendo more obvious. I think I increased the size of my pattern to show a crescendo. But that led to a separate problem with tempo…ugh. Sadly,

I kind of gave up after that. I myself was not prepared so I wasn’t sure what other gestures to make. So I tried making a very basic one and seeing how that didn’t work, I

1 kind of got discouraged and pulled back. I didn’t want to try to do anymore gestures. I

wasn’t giving the ensemble anything to respond to, my gestures were meaningless. I

didn’t want to try to be ‘more musical.’ I just felt defeated and wanted it all to go away.

This vignette depicts a typical experience for a novice conductor in a beginning undergraduate course. Though this was their first conducting experience, it implies what many acknowledge as a rising concern in preparing undergraduate music majors for their careers; the importance of gestural skill development necessary for a student to develop confidence on the podium. This singular experience also supports what has been noted by scholars, that there is an overwhelming amount of gestural knowledge that must be taught, experienced, and refined within a short amount of time (Forrester, 2015; Silvey, 2009; Chapman, 2008; Neidinger, 2003;

Yontz, 2001). Collegiate music students and teachers, including the researcher, continue to experience and observe the gestural struggles represented by this vignette. Despite the students’ best intentions to elicit musicality by attempting to show a crescendo, this implication appears to contribute to a discouraging musical experience for the novice conductor.

Conductors often design musical experiences through which students tie the performance of music to feeling. “All our musical experiences, no matter of what sort, ‘educate’ our inner, felt life, refining, clarifying, broadening, and deepening our feelings in a way analogous to how language does the same for our conceptual reasoning” (Reimer, 2005, p. 135). Guidance through these musical experiences typically occurs non-verbally utilizing body gestures and facial expression (Harris, 2001).

A conductor’s gestures create a visual syntax that connect the performers’ and audiences’ emotions to sounds and symbols being experienced (Corporon, 2000). Beginning undergraduate conducting courses typically develop and begin refining a conductor’s expressive gestures

2 (Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Harris, 2001; Hunsburger & Ernst, 1992). “The development of student conductor’s expressive and communicative abilities through body language is an important part of conducting curricula” (Harris, 2001, p. 67). Beginning undergraduate conducting courses must allot ample time for this development and should take high priority in any music education environment. “Conductors’ technical and expressive skills need to be as developed as our players’ skills. It is unfair and unreasonable to expect our musicians to be more artistic and expressive than we are” (Corporon, 2000, pp. 95-96).

Many agree with Corporon regarding the development of technical and expressive conducting skills within young conductors (Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Harris, 2001;

Hunsburger & Ernst, 1992). Some acknowledge concern that there is an overwhelming amount of gestural skill that must be taught, experienced, and refined within the framework of a beginning conducting course, possibly insufficient for many beginning conductors (Forrester,

2015; Silvey, 2009; Chapman, 2008; Neidinger, 2003; Yontz, 2001). As a graduate student teaching assistant and conducting student, the researcher can directly empathize with undergraduate beginning conducting students as they attempt to absorb and navigate through the vast amount of gestural skill presented to them in their beginning undergraduate conducting course. Regardless of their previous experiences, perceived skill as a conductor, or genuine desire to become the next Leonard Bernstein or Gustavo Dudamel, the harsh reality of a steep and rigid learning process is all too familiar. Limiting the amount of gestural skills taught could be a pedagogical disservice to the art of conducting. Increasing the amount of time for application may not be practical for some music curriculums. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of a beginning undergraduate conductor as they learned to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expression. Exploring the

3 experiences of an undergraduate music student enrolled in a beginning conducting course from a

Midwestern university provided this insight through the lens of the student.

Rationale

The importance of expressive conducting is often discussed throughout the conducting literature. One of the most important roles of a conductor is to prepare an ensemble to perform not only accurately but expressively utilizing physical gestures and facial expressions (Silvey,

2011; Price, 2006; VanWeelden, 2002). Price and Chang (2001) stated that the attainment of an expressive performance should be the goal of both the performers and the conductor. Nonverbal expressivity is visually communicated to musicians through conducting in order to elicit a musically expressive performance. Researchers have summarized the obvious importance of conductor expressivity, how it impacts an ensemble’s musical performance, and how audiences’ perceive an emotional performance (Silvey, 2011; Morrison, Price, Geiger, & Cornacchio, 2009;

Chapman, 2008; Price, 2006; VanWeelden, 2002; Harris, 2001).

For many music students, the development of gestures that elicit expressive performance are typically introduced in a beginning undergraduate conducting course. Hunsberger and Ernst

(1992) stress that colleges should be concerned with the improvement of their conducting classes due to the fact that a large percentage of music graduates will use their conducting skills extensively during their careers and may not receive additional guided instruction. In beginning undergraduate conducting courses, music students learn the basics of how to use their arms, hands, fingers, faces, and bodies to accurately display basic beat patterns and cues nonverbally in order to represent and manipulate sound (VanWeelden, 2002). This is important in establishing a framework for understanding the technical aspects of conducting, considering that many beginning student conductors lack a basic understanding of conducting principles (Labuta, 2010;

4 Bailey, 2009; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst., 1992). One could conclude that expressive conducting requires a deeper understanding aside from basic technique.

Boonshaft (2006) explains that conducting is an understanding of how the mechanics and logic of a physical gesture work together to portray sound. “Conversely, conducting that dwells on precise, machine-like movements without the passion and soul of artistic motion will be sterile and lifeless” (Boonshaft, 2002, pp. 39-40). Corporon (2000) says that expression is the magic ingredient that turns sound into music. Interpretative and expressive principles of conducting are just as important as basic technique and are often more difficult to teach to undergraduate students (Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992).

Weston Noble and Craig Kirchhoff believe that collegiate conducting programs fall short in emphasizing musical feeling through expression in the preparation of beginning conductors

(Harris, 2001). There is an overwhelming amount of gestural skill that should be experienced and explored by a beginning undergraduate conductor. These opportunities are frequently neglected by the rigorous requirements of a music student’s program of study (Forrester, 2015; Silvey,

2009; Chapman, 2008; Neidinger, 2003; Harris, 2001; Yontz, 2001).

The timeline for teaching conducting in collegiate music curriculums, coupled with providing students ample opportunities to develop and apply their understanding of conducting with expressivity, could be challenging for beginning conducting students. As a graduate teaching assistant and conducting student, I have seen how this dichotomy paints a picture of confusion within the minds of undergraduate music students as they attempt to make sense of conducting. Under these restraints, I often wonder how the music students enrolled in a beginning undergraduate conducting course navigate, develop, and apply the vast amount material that they are taught. It has been my experience that most music students possess a strong

5 desire to learn and practice how to be expressive conductors from their instructors. Despite their best efforts in the classroom and in the practice room, there still appears to be a large disparity of skill when they physically express their internal desires. From the student’s point of view, it would be interesting to investigate how possible misunderstandings influence expressive conducting.

The findings of the current study will help contribute to literature aimed to assist with the development of expressive conducting skills in beginning instrumental undergraduate conductors. Understanding the students’ perspective could help improve curriculum development and provide future students with a document they can relate to. This information has the potential to provide instructors another perspective of understanding how beginning undergraduate conducting students understand and develop the skills needed to conduct with expressivity.

Hopefully these findings can contribute to the improvement expressive conducting instruction while remaining humble and empathetic to beginning undergraduate students conducting for the first time.

Research Purpose

Research Questions

The specific research questions for this study are:

6 1. When preparing for rehearsal without an audible stimulus, does the participant consider

how they will gesturally express musical intentions during their upcoming in-class

conducting experiences?

2. While conducting, to what extent does the participant recognize when expressive intent is

achieved in their conducting gestures, the ensemble’s performance, and how do they

respond to their observations?

3. After conducting an ensemble, how did the participant perceive expressivity exhibited

through their conducting?

Definitions and Terms

1. Audible stimulus – A general term used to describe audible feedback produced by an

individual, an ensemble, or a recording.

2. Beginning undergraduate conducting course (BUCC) – An introductory undergraduate

conducting course that is offered to music students in fulfillment of a Bachelor of Music

Education degree at a four-year university. These students are typically in their second

through fifth year of a Bachelor of Music Education program of study. Since the state

licensure is PreK-12 All Music, both instrumental conducting (first half of the semester) and

choral (second half of the semester) techniques are introduced in the BUCC for all students.

3. Conducting – The combination of at least three functions: 1) the conductor beats time with

his or her hands or with a baton in rehearsal or performance; 2) the conductor makes

interpretative decisions about musical works and implements these decisions in rehearsal and

performance; 3) the conductor participates in the administration of the musical ensemble

(Spitzer, Zaslaw, Botstein, Barber, Bowen, & Westrup 2015).

7 4. Basic Conducting Techniques – The curriculum of BUCC specific to this study defines the

following as basic conducting techniques: conducting posture, holding a baton, basic patterns

(4/4, 3/4, 2/4), basic dynamics (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff), preparatory gestures, release gestures,

basic style/articulations (legato, accented, staccato, marcato), basic fermatas, and basic score

study-markings.

5. Ensemble – A group of people or things that make up a complete unit (Merriam-Webster,

2015). For the purposes of this study, the ensemble is comprised of instrumental, vocal, and

orchestral music students enrolled in the BUCC on site.

6. Expressivity – Expressivity refers to a set of perceptual qualities (emotional, structural,

motional), which reflect psychosocial relationships between objective properties of the music

and subjective impressions of the listener (Karlsson, 2008).

7. Gesture – A movement usually of the body or limbs that expresses or emphasizes an idea,

sentiment, or attitude (Merriam-Webster, 2015).

8. Rehearsal – An event at which a person or group practices an activity in order to prepare for

a public performance (Merriam-Webster, 2015).

9. Perception – The process of sensing one’s environment (Radocy & Boyle, 2012).

10. Undergraduate music students – Undergraduate students who are pursuing a Bachelor of

Music in Music Education, a Bachelor of Music Performance, a Bachelor of Music, or a

Music Minor degree. These students are instrumental, vocal, and orchestral music education

majors, music performance majors, music compositions majors, and music minors.

8 Theoretical Framework

Interpretivism is the theoretical framework used for this study. Crotty (1998) describes interpretivism as oriented overwhelmingly towards an uncritical exploration of meaning.

Schwandt (2007) elaborates that interpretivist approach studying social life through the lens of understanding. Symbolic interactionism provides the researcher a more focused lens to understand meaning outlined by three basic assumptions:

1. that human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that these things have

for them;

2. that the meaning of such things is derived from, and arises out of, the social interaction

that one has with one’s fellows’;

3. that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, and interpretive process used

by the person in dealing with the things he encounters. (Blumer, 1969, p. 2)

Reimer (2005) states that music communicates explicit meaning only when it uses sound effects or other explicit signs or symbols directly referring to designated things, ideas, and emotions. He continues by adding that music is used to help students artistically and aesthetically experience meaning by immersing them directly and personally through perceptual, sensory, and affective knowing. Reimer offers three roles to how language is used as a means of enhancement to the quality of these musical experiences:

1. musical meaning is always historically and contextually grounded;

2. every instance of music has within it a great number of possible interrelations among its

sounds, as determined by history, culture, the individual(s) involved in its creation,

associated ideas, references, and so forth;

9 3. music’s history, cultural setting, structure, and organization of sounds, and incorporated

material is capable of being delineated by language both technically and vernacularly.

(pp. 161-162)

One could say that the thread between Reimer’s previously mentioned beliefs and

Blumer’s assumptions of symbolic interactionism are very strong. Both are grounded in how individuals derive meaning and understanding based on their own perceptions. They reveal the importance of community and how social interaction with life experience informs meaning and understanding. Both also require a deep level of immersion to gain understanding of how interpreted symbols affect an experience. All of these factors are vitally important when exploring the research purpose of the current study. Through the course of the study, both the participant and researcher became aware of how individual perception and community

(ensemble) perception influence each other when conducting with expressivity in a beginning undergraduate conducting course (BUCC).

Methodology

The methodology utilized for this study was case study. According to Hays (2014), case studies seek to answer focused questions by producing in-depth descriptions and interpretations over a relativity short period of time. For the purposes of this study, data collection methods included researcher field observations, researcher field notes, in-depth interviews, and video elicitation interviews. Data was gathered and carried out over one academic semester, approximately ten weeks.

Limits, Possibilities, and Assumptions of the Study

There were multiple limitations related to the current study. The first being that one participant was observed during the first half (ten weeks) of their BUCC experience. The

10 curriculum for the BUCC used in this study introduced basic conducting techniques during the first eight weeks of the semester. The researcher was intentional in capturing this experience with their participant. This lends directly to the possibility of future research with an expanded timeline as well as more participants.

Another limitation was that control of the number of conducting experiences was not in the preview of the researcher. The BUCC curriculum allowed students to volunteer to conduct before being randomly called to conduct a minimum of three times within the beginning of the semester. To maintain trustworthiness and confidentiality with their participant, the researcher clearly communicated that there was no expectation or pressure for the participant to conduct on behalf of the study. Possibilities for future studies could include increasing the frequency of conducting opportunities as well as scheduling these experiences, giving the participant known time to prepare to conduct.

An assumption of the current study was that the researcher was also a graduate teaching assistant assigned to oversee administrative duties as well as provided instruction for the students enrolled in BUCC. This influenced how the researcher perceived the participant based on the course expectations, attendance, academic achievement, and emotional behaviors throughout the semester. Balance in fulfilling the roles of both an administrator, an instructor, and a researcher were achieved through diligent reciprocity, ethics, rigor, and trustworthiness. This involvement of the researcher had a strong influence on their perception of the participant while presenting a unique opportunity for the researcher to gain depth and insight to how the participant experienced and perceived conducting with expressivity.

The researcher possessed a wealth of academic and curricular knowledge while assisting with the BUCC used for the current study. This knowledge uncovered differences in the

11 perception of conducting with expressivity between the participant and the instructors. These differences in perception, from the participant’s point of view, thoroughly informed the researcher how the participant perceived conducting with expressivity. This insight has the possibility of influencing how universities design beginning conducting curriculums, possibly making them more accessible to beginning undergraduate conductors. There is also potential in providing university professors with alternative instructional methods to help beginning conducting students discover how to conduct with expressivity.

12 Chapter 2 - Review of the Literature

Introduction

There is no shortage of literature emphasizing the importance of expressive conducting, curriculum and methods of instruction, and the relevance it has for beginning undergraduate conducting students. Despite this vast amount of information, some are concerned with the competency of skill one needs to physically express internal desires while conducting music

(especially in beginning undergraduate conductors). This variation in proficiency could have compelling influence on how beginning undergraduate students conduct with expressivity. The purpose of this literature review is to reveal how current literature connect and influence the instruction of beginning undergraduate conductors. Supporting literature investigating conducting (musical expressivity, skill development/curriculum, and teaching expressiveness), perception, music and culture, and the research design of the current study are presented.

Findings within the reviewed literature provide relevance, rationale, and implications for this study.

Conducting

Conducting with Musical Expressivity

One cannot deny the importance of discovering and communicating musical expressivity in a performance. Karolsson (2008) defines musical expressivity as a set of perceptual qualities

(emotional, structural, motional), which reflect psychosocial relationships between objective properties of the music and subjective impressions of the listener. Lisk (2015) defines musical expressivity as the truth and integrity of musical expression as a collaborative effort to respond and “take the risk of shaping and creating the sounds dictated by the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic flow of the composition” (p. 12). John Locke, Director of Bands at the University of

13 North Carolina Greensboro, explains expressivity as an awareness of how to take symbols on the page (musical notation) into expressive passages instead of directions represented by sound

(Walker, 2013). Musical expressivity could be summarized as an ability to translate unadorned musical nomenclature into an emotional experience essential to the communication of music

(Lisk, 2015; Walker, 2013; Karlsson, 2008; Harris, 2001).

For musical ensembles (large instrumental and choral ensembles especially), a conductor is often tasked with the responsibility for leading musicians technically and expressively through a piece of music. An important role of a conductor is to prepare an ensemble to perform not only accurately but expressively utilizing physical gestures and facial expressions (Silvey, 2011;

Price, 2006; VanWeelden, 2002). Vuoskoski, Thompson, Clarke, and Spence (2014) designed a study investigating how audiovisual interactions were held back by technical difficulties associated with mismatching stimuli. Their study revealed that physical gestures are an integral part of musical communication as well as everyday human communication. Also revealed were that gestures can communicate a range of meaningful information such as musical ideas, musical structure, and emotional expression to both performers and audience members. This connection to everyday human communication could be a reason why musical communication is relatively understood between different musicians, music ensembles, and music cultures (Blacking, 1973).

Karlsson (2008) states “Given the importance of expression in music performance, it is reasonable to expect that music teachers devote a lot of their time to developing this skill” (p. 7).

Price and Chang (2001) also believe that the achievement of an expressive performance by an ensemble should be the goal of a conductor elicited by expressive conducting. Researchers have also summarized the obvious importance of conductor expressivity, how it impacts an ensemble’s musical performance, and how audiences’ perceive an emotional performance

14 (Morrison, et al., 2009). Coefer (1998) investigated the ability of seventh-grade band students to recognize and respond to expressive conducting gestures in order to improve rehearsal efficiency and productivity. He acknowledges that younger students should be instructed and sensitized to expressive conducting gestures. This inferred that if conductors frequently utilize gestures of expressivity from the beginning of their teaching, their students could become organically sensitized to the expressive conducting gestures, reducing the need for the instruction that Coefer

(1998) suggests.

Harris (2001) revealed that conducting legends Frederick Fennell and Larry Rachleff physically embody music through expressive conducting rather than talking about it. This is not only for musical engagement but for classroom management. Fennell states, “If you can’t make it happen with your technique, all of the works in the world are not going to do it for you” (as cited in Harris, 2001, p. 69). Tutt (2007) mentioned that conductors utilize talking too much in efforts to create an environment of active music making. He continues by acknowledging that talking is a common and often necessary method of instruction but it decreases students’ individual or comprehensive musicianship. The context of Tutt’s (2007) article was centered around teaching the 1994 National Standards for Music and how to ask questions in an engaging manner. He also says, “Conductors typically improve poor phrasing by modeling the correct phrasing for the student” (p. 40). The ability to show an ensemble the direction of a phrase through expressive gestures rather than vocal modeling is something conductors should aspire towards (Lisk, 2015; Walker, 2015; Boonshaft, 2006; Boonshaft, 2002; Harris, 2001).

Corporon (2000) says that individual expression is the magic ingredient that turns sound into music. “As artist conductors/teachers, we are charged with the responsibility of preserving and bettering humanity” (p. 101).

15 Often I won’t tell them what I think and try to elicit their response. “What does this mean

to you? What does this say to you?” They must know that whatever they say is right.

They are not wrong, therefore it gives them the courage to speak up…. They may have a

totally different interpretation from mine or other students and they hear these varied

responses. Then I’ll say, “Can you find a common thread here, or a common feeling?” If

they can’t I’ll help them out…. How do you involve them? You give them a challenge.

(Weston Noble as cited in Harris, 2001, p. 44).

Questioning can often be used to elicit engagement of student imagination. Harris’ (2001) account of Noble’s statement demonstrates how conducting can help ensemble members discover their own meanings to music. Harris (2001) continues to cite renowned conductors as they describe how they use narrative and analogies to challenge ensemble members to view expressive conducting through an inquisitive lens; a lens that could encourage independent musicianship in beginning undergraduate conducting students.

Jordan, Wyers, and Andrews (2011) reveal the similarities between Laban’s Movement

Language, conducting, and the relationship between the perception of how one moves and how one perceives how others move. They also acknowledge that humans are born with an innate physical vocabulary and as musicians, we “realize that physical movement and perception of that movement is a strong element in our musicing” (Jordan et al., 2011, p. 70). In the context of

Laban, the choices of gesture a conductor makes directly influences how their ensemble responds. “Laban’s language can help beginning conductors…to create an organic sense of connection between movement and sound even amidst their first awkward gestures” (Geoffery

Bores as cited in Jordan et al., 2011, p. 145). Bores continues by adding that Laban efforts can

16 help build musical and expressive ideas in an ensemble, engaging students in a colorful musical language and helpful listening activities.

Expressive conducting implies a hidden meaning to music. Musical meaning goes from the composer’s score, into the conductor, and into the ensemble via physical gesture (Walker,

2013; Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Harris, 2001; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992).

Because of the inquisitive and novelty characteristic that are born into every human being

(Sousa, 2011) and the fact that to human is to be musical (Blacking, 1973), one cannot help to be curious about the meaning and reasoning behind a conductor’s choice in expressive gesture.

Could this stand alone to why expressive conducting is engaging and requires ensemble members to develop musical sensitivities (independent musicianship)? Could humanity itself be the link, our born musical and innate instincts that lead us to developing own musical expressivities?

Conducting Skill Development/Curriculum:

When developing a vocabulary of movement with undergraduate conductors, teachers must give students the necessary tools in which to express their emotions through music. Poch

(1982) states:

A conductor has the responsibility to recreate an artistic product of a composer, and the

accomplishment of this task involves a great deal more than simply realizing the printed

symbols on the page of a score. The conductor must be able to convey a multiplicity of

nuances to his ensemble through gestures which serve as his vocabulary for this form of

non-verbal communication. (p. 21)

Developing a student’s vocabulary to conduct expressively through non-verbal communication

(physical gesture) is an important part of the conducting curriculum (Harris, 2001). For many,

17 the development of expressive conducting gestures begins in a beginning undergraduate conducting course. Hunsberger and Ernst (1992) stress that colleges should be concerned with the improvement of their conducting classes due to the fact that a large percentage of music graduates will use their conducting skills extensively during their careers and may not receive additional guided instruction. In beginning undergraduate conducting courses, music students learn how to use their arms, hands, fingers, faces, and bodies to accurately display basic beat patterns and cues nonverbally (VanWeelden, 2002). This is important in establishing a framework for understanding the technical aspects of conducting, considering that many beginning student conductors lack a basic understanding of interpretative and expressive conducting principles (Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992).

Common text books utilized to in beginning undergraduate courses include The Art of

Conducting by Donald Hunsburger and Roy E. Ernst, Basic Conducting Techniques by Joseph

A. Labuta, Conducting: The Art of Communication by Wayne Bailey, and The Modern

Conductor by Elizabeth A. H. Green. Below is a compellation from the Table of Content of the texts above (sparing extensive detail):

18 Active/Passive Gestures Entrances Preparatory Gesture Administrative Error Detection and Rebound Responsibilities Correction Rehearsal Planning Advanced Techniques Evaluation Relaxation Ambidextrous Conducting Expressive Conducting Releases Articulations Facial Expression Score Analysis Asymmetrical Meter Fermata Score Marking Audience Rapport Fractional Beat Preparation Score Study Baton Gesture of Syncopation Stance Baton Grip Hinges Subdivision Body Language Ictus Tempo Changes Body Position Melding Gestures Tenuto Choral Conducting Mirror Conducting Trace Patterns Clefs Mixed Meter Transpositions Conducting Area Music History Travel Conducting Patterns Music Psychology Twentieth Century Cues Musical Style Innovations Downbeat Orchestral Conducting Use of the Left Hand Dynamics Posture

Figure 2.1 Table of contents compellation from common beginning conducting textbooks.

The types of expressivity a conductor must convey consists of a mixture of musical knowledge and knowledge of physical movement. Bailey (2009) states:

The conductor must provide informed interpretation of music through his knowledge of

musical style and performance practice, compositional style of the composer, and

historical aspects of the work and composer. He must have an analytical understanding of

the work to be conducted that provides an interpretation of phrase structures, climaxes,

tempo markings, and dynamic, articulation, and ornamental markings. The ability to

understand a composition from a musical sense is more important than the development

of excellent stick technique. (pp. 3-4)

Labuta (2010), Green (1997), and Hunsberger and Ernst (1992), also imply that a strong cognitive musical understanding informs a conductor’s physical gestures and their interpretation of music expression. Interpretation is usually associated with score study. Battisti and Garofalo

19 (1990) emphasize the realization of the mental construction of music in order to “transform the notation into an expressive image” (p. 1). They suggest that young musicians aspiring to be wind conductors develop and improve the foundation upon which skills and knowledge support expressivity in the following musical knowledge and skill requirements: music history, literature, and style; music theory and analysis; composition; ear training and sight singing; orchestration, transpositions, and clefs; secondary instruments; piano/keyboard skills; and instrumental performance. After these foundations in music are established, Battisti and Garofalo provide a systematic process for score study including: (1) score orientation, (2) score reading, (3) score analysis, and (4) score interpretation. Numerous resources recommend and align similarly with the expectations outlined by Basttisti and Garofalo and acknowledge the realization that score study is a life-long pursuit that should not be discouraging to young musicians (Walker, 2013;

Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Harris, 2001; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992).

Teaching Expressiveness

The above-mentioned literature support what many collegiate resources acknowledge as a lack of basic understanding of physical, interpretative, and expressive conducting principles in beginning undergraduate conductors (Jordan et al., 2011; Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Green,

1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992; Battisti & Garofalo, 1990). Typically, many undergraduate conducting curriculums attempt to introduce and develop a myriad of conducting skills over just two semesters (Harris, 2001). Many resources such as The Art of Conducting by Donald

Hunsburger and Roy E. Ernst, Basic Conducting Techniques by Joseph A. Labuta, Conducting:

The Art of Communication by Wayne Bailey, and The Modern Conductor by Elizabeth A. H.

Green provide structured and systematic approaches to the physical mastery of conducting mechanics (Neidlinger, 2003). Physical gestures (primarily gross motor and body coordination)

20 and nonverbal gestures (eye contact, facial expression) are frequently addressed in the aforementioned conducting texts (Silvey & Baumgartner, 2016). Frederickson, Johnson, and

Robinson suggest that a music teacher’s first impression of their conducting effectiveness “plays an important role in determining their overall success with students” (as cited by Silvey & Major,

2014, p. 76). They continue by suggesting that the emphasis on conducting mechanics in a beginning conducting course could play an important role in establishing future conductors in the classroom.

The focus on achieving technical conducting skill proficiency in many conducting texts leaves expressiveness “treated as added technique, learned only after the mechanics of time beating have been mastered” (Bartee cited by Neidlinger, 2003, p. 6). This disparity in expressive conducting between novice conductors and experienced conductors is something familiar to conducting researchers. Expressive conducting has been used as a form of evaluation within ensemble rehearsals. Similar to the example cited above, Tutt (2007) states that a conductor can use expressive conducting to evaluate the effectiveness and perception of expressive conducting gestures. Studies have investigated the relationship between expressive conducting and expressive performance in context to state festival ratings (Price & Chang, 2001) and ensemble performance evaluations (Morrison et al., 2009). Implications are made that support the positive relation between expressive conducting and expressive musicianship.

Grechesky (1985) found similar results, being that ensembles that had higher rating scores had directors who were more physically active on the podium then directors who were not. Laib

(1993) concludes that “Expressive conducting contributes to positive student attitudes towards music, the conductor, and the way pieces are conducted” (p. 94). These studies could imply that because ensembles performed with more expressivity (and therefore received a higher

21 performance rating), students were encouraged to develop their independent musicianship by their directors who conducted expressively.

The teaching of expressivity to beginning conducting students is something that conducting classes struggle to teach (Lisk, 2015; Boonshaft, 2002; Harris, 2001). Lisk (2015) adds that conducting students very seldom experience expressive conducting. Rather they are programmed to “specific conducting movements in response to the score…having been taught the ‘right’ way to conduct a specific score…gestures and moves devoid of any meaning or connection of soul/expression” (p. 19). He continues by eluding to how teachers have made music into something that have little to do with expression and more to do with devices and skills that are “divorced from musical expression and communication” (p. 30). These devices and skills, however, are necessary for equipping beginning conducting students with a foundational understanding and means of conducting with expressivity (Walker, 2013; Labuta, 2010; Bailey,

2009; Harris, 2001; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992). Perhaps the discovery of better ways to balance communication through musical expression and the development and application of these devices and skills needs to be pursued. Could a shift in perception allow these two sides to better interact with one another? The following section will discuss perception as it relates to the current study.

Perception

Music Perception

Perception is a process of sensing one’s environment (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). Hodges,

Sebald, and Krumhansl define music perception as sensing (perceiving) and processing musical sounds within one’s environment (as cited in Lathroum, 2011). The primary musical elements that humans perceive when listening to music are melody, harmony, and rhythm (Thompson,

22 2015; Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Radocy, 1980). The recognition of these musical elements, along with how they are organized and structured, is what allows listeners to differentiate and perceive music from nonmusical sounds (Thompson, 2015; Radocy & Boyle, 2012).

Melody could be defined as a sequence of successive tones organized in a logical manner

(Radocy, 1980). These intertonal pitch and durational relationships are constructed and analyzed in a variety of ways. The researcher of Thomspon (2015), Radocy & Boyle (2012), and Radocy

(1980) summarize the fundamental characteristics of melody perception to be tonality (pitch) and melodic contour (sequencing of pitch). Pitch concerns the location of tones on a high-low continuum (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). Melodic contour refers to the pattern of upward and downward changes in pitch overtime (Thompson, 2015).

Radocy & Boyle (2012) define harmony as the vertical pitch structures of music that are constructed in contrast to the horizontal pitch structure (melody) of music. They add that in

Western music, these vertical structures (chords) function generally in one of two ways; polyphonically and homophonically. Polyphonic structures are the combination of two or more simultaneously sounding melodies. Homophonic structures consist of “one melody supported by a tertian harmonic framework and considers both the resultant horizontal and vertical dimensions of the musical sound” (p. 238). Harmony is most often referenced as homophonic within a tertian harmonic framework that is typically developed by some form of musical progression

(Thompson, 2015; Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Radocy, 1980). Listeners develop and respond to three primary attributes of harmonic structure; tonality, harmonic motion, and finality. Tonality consists of a tonal center providing a reference that helps the listener respond to often complex and sequential series of sounds. Harmonic motion is a horizontal progression of tones that functions relative to melody and in relation with tonality. Finality consists of cadence points

23 within a tonal harmonic framework that allows the listener to predict direction and develop expectations for melodic-harmonic relationships (Thompson, 2015; Radocy & Boyle, 2012).

Researchers mutually agree that an understanding of interval relationships, modes, tonal centers, and harmonic form, as well as cultural context, influence harmonic perception in listeners

(Thompson, 2015; Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Radocy, 1980; Blacking, 1973).

Radocy & Boyle (2012) and Radocy (1980) define rhythm as the musical pattern of organized sounds and silences related to respective durations in an order across time. Thompson

(2015) and Creston (as cited in Radocy & Boyle, 2012) identify four basic aspects of rhythm; meter, pace, accent, and pattern. Meter (time) is a cyclical pattern of strong and weak points of stress. Pace (tempo or pulse) is how meter is measured across time in cycles per second (beats per minute). Accent is the emphasis of particular beats. Pattern (grouping) is the subdivision of pulse or beats into smaller units. A steady or isochronous beat offers a framework for listeners to organize sound (Lathroum, 2011). This framework is not exclusively experienced in music but also in speech, movement, and other phenomena (Thompson, 2015).

The concept of musical perception is not a simple task. Acknowledgement that music is a human construct with certain psychological, perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral potentials that interact with sound constructs should be considered (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). Humans also bring a lifetime of experiences, meaning, and purpose with music from their culture (Thompson, 2015;

Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Radocy, 1980; Blacking, 1973). Expressive conducting could become an incredible tool for people to communicate their experiences. Knowledge of how enhanced perceptual skills could transform one’s prior experiences into musical expectations. Before investigating the interaction between music and culture, an examination of Gestalt perceptual principles could provide a more cognitive understanding of music perception.

24 Gestalt Perception

Gestalt (a German word meaning shape or form) perception explains how the human brain recognizes and organizes patterns in a series of separate tonal events to combine them into a whole entity (Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Lipscomb, 1996; Buttram, 1980). In the early 1900s the research and writings of German psychologists Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt

Koffka, and Kurt Lewin began making an impact in the field of perception and cognitive organization with their Gestalt principles (Lathroum, 2011; Buttram, 1980). These principles are derived from the Law of Pragnänz which refers to how humans seek to organize information in the simplest way possible during the perceptual and memory process (Krumhansl as cited in

Lathroum, 2011). Others add that this process works towards a good and harmonious means of organization in a predictable fashion provided ideal prevailing conditions exist (Radocy &

Boyle, 2012; Buttram, 1980). The predictability of this organization process is dependent upon the subsidiary laws essential to Gestalt perception; proximity, closure, similarity, common direction, and simplicity.

The law of proximity states that stimuli grouped together tends to be perceived as a unit

(Thompson, 2015). Observing a conductor consistently place ictus on beats one, two, three, and four within a measure of 4/4 could be an example of the law of proximity. The tendency for incomplete figures to be perceived as a complete whole the refers to the law of closure (Buttram,

1980). This could be a melding gesture used to combine beats three and four, showing growth to the end of a phase, arriving at the downbeat the next measure. The law of similarity says items that are similar tend to be perceived as a grouped together (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). An ensemble recognizing their conductor’s use of a clock-wise motion to show releases could be an example of the law of similarity. Items that share a similar direction or an orderly series of events

25 tend to be perceived as grouped under the law of common direction (Buttram, 1980). This could be moving one’s arms or hands in an upward or outward direction to show a crescendo. The law of simplicity states that objects tend to be perceived in the most regular, symmetrical, or simple manner (Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Radocy, 1980). The use of a consistent and basic 3/4 pattern to conduct Amazing Grace, while maintaining a consistent tempo, could be an example of the law of simplicity. There is an abundance of research that connects perception, Gestalt theory, and music (Thompson, 2015; Radocy & Boyle, 2012; Lathroum, 2011; Jordan et al., 2011;

Lipscomb, 1996; Buttram, 1980; Radocy, 1980). A review of literature referencing perception and conducting follows to investigate the relationship between perception and conducting.

Perception and Conducting

Demonstrating enhanced and focused perceptual skills while conducting has been referenced by researchers regarding how conductors, their gestures, and use of expressivity are perceived by ensembles and observers (Lisk, 2015; Morrison et al., 2009; Karlsson, 2008; Lisk,

2006; Price, 2006; Neidlinger, 2003; Price & Chang, 2001; Yontz, 2001; Laib, 1993; Grechesky,

1985; Poch, 1982). Silvey has conducted numerous studies investigating perception and conducting with expressivity. A study he conducted in 2011 examined whether an excellent or poor ensemble performances would influence the ratings of ensemble members to conductors demonstrating expressive conducting. The ratings of the ensemble members’ perception of their expressive conductors were not affected by the excellent or poor performances of the ensemble.

Silvey & Major (2014) investigated undergraduate music majors’ perceptions of their experiences during their basic conducting course. Their discoveries revealed that score study increased confidence, conducting effectiveness, and better informed students of their perception of conducting and the complexities they experienced.

26 Silvey and Fisher (2015) examined how conducting plane effected musicians’ perceptions of the conductor and ensemble expressivity. An important implication, that aligns with previous research, revealed that the perceived expressivity an ensemble’s musical performance is strongly influenced by how expressively their director conducts (Morrison et al.,

2009; Price & Change, 2001). Silvey & Baumgartner (2016) investigated the perceptions of conducting efficacy between undergraduate conductors and their teachers. The study found that interpersonal, musical, and physical attributes play a complex and important role in determining overall conducting success. Connections between Gestalt theory, music perception, and conducting are also made by Jordan et al. (2011) in reference to Rudolf von Laban’s philosophy of movement. The same could be said in many collegiate texts (Walker, 2013; Labuta, 2010;

Bailey, 2009; Harris, 2001; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992).

Perception of expressive conducting could be viewed as an essential means for communicating musical intent between a composer and an audience. An ensemble must be able to understand the conductor’s expressivity through their gestures. The conductor must demonstrate enhanced and focused perceptual skills to the ensemble, informed by an understanding of primary musical elements within a score. The score was composed by someone whose musical perceptions were influenced by their past experiences, cultures, and/or experiences and cultures of others. The next section will explore the interaction between music and culture.

Music Influencing Culture

Extensive research and scholarship has examined music through the lenses of cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, sociology of music,

27 and sociomusicology (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). Music is a synthesis of cognitive processes that are present in human body and therefore within culture (Blacking, 1973).

…the forms it takes, and the effects it has on people, are generated by the social

experiences of human bodies in different cultural environments. Because music is

humanly organized sound, it expresses aspects of the experience of individuals in

society…The explanation may be historical, political, philosophical, or rational… (p. 89)

Supporting Blacking is Damasio’s call to understand how the brain, development of the mind, and human behaviors are influenced by culture (as cited in Reimer, 2005). Reimer adds that this

“daunting endeavor” could provide “clarification to how culture and music interact to make each of them what it is” (p. 174). One could say that the interaction between music and culture should not be overlooked. The following is a very broad and academic perspective into some of the ways researchers and scholars have discovered how music and culture interact with one another.

In 1964 Alan Merriam, a cultural anthropologist and musicologist, identified ten broad functions of music. He recognized that differences exist in the ways that literate and non-literate societies use music, but also maintained that “music essentially serves the same basic functions regardless of the particular society or culture, or its level of sophistication” (Radocy & Boyle,

2012, p. 11). Theses ten musical functions are: (1) emotional expression, (2) aesthetic enjoyment,

(3) entertainment, (4) communication, (5) symbolic representation, (6) physical response, (7) enforcing conformity norms, (8) validation of social institutions and religious rituals, (9) contributions to the continuity and stability of culture, and (10) contributions to the integration of society (Merriam, 1964). Some consider Merriam’s tenth musical function to be the most important. Merriam (1964) states:

28 “If music allows emotional expression, gives aesthetic pleasure, entertains,

communicates, elicits physical response, enforces conformity to social norms, and

validates social institutions and religious rituals, it is clear that it contributes to the

continuity and stability of culture…music is in a sense a summatory activity for the

expression of values, a means whereby the heart of psychology of a culture is exposed

without many of the protective mechanisms which surround other cultural activities. (p.

225)

Merriam’s perspective on music could suggest that the existence of music provides a normal and solid activity that assures a society’s members that their world is continuing in the correct direction (Radocy & Boyle, 2012).

Sociologists Simon Frith and Max Kaplan have contributed research regarding the social function of music. Frith (2007) describes four functions popular music within a society or culture: (1) to create a type of self-definition, (2) to provide a way of managing the relationship between one’s private and public emotional lives, (3) to shape popular memory, and (4) to provide a sense of musical ownership. Frith adds that “for the last fifty years, pop music has been an important way in which we have learned to understand ourselves as historical, ethnic, classbound, gendered subjects. This has had conservative effects…and liberating ones” (p. 149).

He continues by stating that our cultural needs and expectations are materially based and that music can be used to socially form identify, emotion, and memory in our private and public lives.

Kaplan illustrated the social function of the arts but “seem particularly descriptive to music’s function (Radocy & Boyle, 2012, p. 16). Kaplan’s (1990) social functions of art include:

(1) a form of knowledge, (2) collective possession, (3) personal experience, (4) therapy, (5) a

29 moral and symbolic force, (6) an incidental commodity, (7) a symbolic indicator of change, and

(8) a link among the past, present, and scenario of the future. Kaplan also views the arts as indicators and forerunners of social change that “is so obvious that it risks being ignored” (p. 34).

Kaplan’s last social function of art is regarded as his most profound. He suggests that the

“subjective nature of the arts, and its accumulative nature as a part of every culture, that gives it the unique stability to which the scientist may turn for his own sense of stability in his objective, experimental world” (p. 37). Radocy & Boyle (2012) summarize that “music both shapes and is shaped by society, and students of music history are cognizant of music as a reflection of the life and social conductions of the various historical eras” (p. 18). This makes music “a basic form of knowledge and a major cultural value” (Kaplan, 1990, p. 37).

In 1968, Everett Thayer Gaston, psychologist and early developer of music therapy, identified eight fundamental considerations of people: (1) the need for aesthetic expression and experience, (2) the influence of the cultural matrix on the mode of expression, (3) the integral relationship between music and religion, (4) music as communication, (5) music as structured reality, (6) music’s relationship to the tender emotions, (7) music as a source of gratification, and

(8) music’s potency in a group. Though these considerations focus on musically enriching the individual, a cultural influence remains present (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). “In our culture, as well as others, music is nearly always an expression of good will, a reaching out to others, and is so interpreted. Music, then, is a powerful expression of the interdependence of mankind…”

(Gaston, 1968, p. 25).

Considering how one could be influenced by music reveals the number of layers an individual brings to their essence of being, which begins beyond the reach of the classroom. One could conclude that there are more considerations that could be made when teaching beginning

30 conducting. In light of the previously reviewed literature, further review of literature investigating how past experiences shape a beginning undergraduate conducting student should be considered for future studies. A review of literature of how beginning undergraduate conducting students make decisions based on their past experiences should also be considered.

This broad overview barely skims the surface on how music and culture interact with one another. The thoughts presented by Merriam, Frith, Kaplan, and Gaston provide a perspective that is acknowledged and received in the world of academia. The depth and breadth of this

“daunting endeavor” (Reimer, 2005, 174) reaches as far as one’s interpretation will allow. This complicated yet beautiful entanglement of conducting, perception, and culture is meaningful, extensive, and necessary to continue discovering. The following section will discuss the methodology that not only shares a familiar title but similar characteristics to conducting, interpretivism.

Interpretivism

Interpretivism is the theoretical framework used for this study. Crotty (1998) describes interpretivism as oriented overwhelmingly towards an uncritical exploration of cultural meaning.

Contrary to a positivist approach, interpretivists “looks for culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of social life-world” (Crotty, 1998, p. 67). Schwandt (2007) elaborates that interpretivists approach studying social life through the lens of understanding. He adds that the meaning of human action is rooted in understanding and the role of the researcher is to reveal that meaning.

Sociologist Max Weber is associated with being the theoretical father of interpretivism.

He suggests a need to be concerned with Verstehen (understanding), a necessary and unique approach to the human and social sciences that contrasts Erklären (explaining) found in the

31 natural sciences (Crotty, 1998). This understanding allows the researcher to “interpret the motives of other men’s conduct in terms of their professed or ascribed intentions” (Gerth &

Mills, 1946, p. 56). Verstchen seeks to establish general laws where as Erklären seeks to isolate individual phenomena to trace their unique development (Crotty, 1998).

Symbolic Interactionism

Symbolic interactionism provides the researcher a more focused lens to understand such phenomena. Many credit pragmatist philosopher and social psychologist George Herburt Mead with the development of this framework. This predominately American view of life, society, and the world has had a lasting impact on field of sociology due to the work of Herbert Blumer

(Crotty, 1998). A former student of Mead at the University of Chicago, Blumer (1969) outlines three basic assumptions of symbolic interactionism:

1. that human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that these things have

for them;

2. that the meaning of such things is derived from, and arises out of, the social interaction

that one has with one’s fellows’;

3. that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, and interpretive process used

by the person in dealing with the things he encounters. (p. 2)

Mead was able to realize the pragmatist views of Charles Sanders Pierce, William James, and John Dewey in the context of sociology (Crotty, 1998). Blumer (1969) reflects on the unique relationship between pragmatism and symbolic interactionism.

Despite significant differences in the thought of such scholars, there is a great similarity

in the general way in which they viewed and studied human group life. The concept of

symbolic interactionism is built around this strand of general similarity. (p. 1)

32 Schwandt (2007) states that pragmatism serves as a philosophical source for symbolic interactionism. Both views also agree that humans are purposeful and confront their world through interpretation rather than construction. The researcher can only understand human action by actively entering the community of the participants and inquire how they view themselves by understanding their behaviors, speech, and other symbols (Schwant, 2007).

Symbolic interactionism is an appropriate theoretical framework for this study because of the similarities shared between musical meaning and the assumptions of the framework. Reimer

(2005) states that music communicates explicit meaning only when it uses sound effects or other explicit signs or symbols directly referring to designated things, ideas, and emotions. Music is used to help students artistically and aesthetically experience meaning by immersing them directly and personally through perceptual, sensory, and affective knowing (Reimer, 2005). “So by taking our students into musical sounds, in all the ways our culture provides for, we allow music to speak its mystery” (Reimer, 2005, p. 159). He offers three roles to how language is used as a means of enhancement to the quality of these musical experiences:

1. musical meaning is always historically and contextually grounded;

2. every instance of music has within it a great number of possible interrelations among its

sounds, as determined by history, culture, the individual(s) involved in its creation,

associated ideas, references, and so forth;

3. music’s history, cultural setting, structure, and organization of sounds, and incorporated

material is capable of being delineated by language both technically and vernacularly.

(Reimer, 2005, p. 161-162)

In the opinion this researcher, the thread between Reimer’s previously mentioned beliefs and Blumer’s assumptions of symbolic interactionism are very strong. Both are grounded in how

33 individuals derive meaning and understanding based on their own perceptions. They reveal the importance of community and how social interaction informs meaning and understanding. Both also require a deep level of immersion to gain understanding of how interpreted symbols affect an experience at the macro and micro levels. All of these factors are vitally important when exploring the research purpose of the current study. Both the participants and researcher must be aware of how individual perception and community (ensemble) perception influence each other when conducting with expressivity in a beginning undergraduate conducting course.

Symbolic interactionism allows the researcher to be immersed in the participant’s world.

This enables the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of individual and communal perceptions and interpretations to answer the research questions of the current study. The first research question asks how the participants perceive expressivity through their conducting when preparing for rehearsal without an audible stimulus. The participants of this study will need to describe the potential differences between the experiences of question one and question two, and how these experiences informs their perception of conducting with expressivity. The second question asks how the participants will recognize and respond to the ensemble’s perception of their expressive conducting. To answer this question, participants will need to describe the relationship of their perception versus the ensemble’s perception of their expressive conducting.

The participants will also need to describe how their response to the ensemble’s perception can unify musical meaning. The third research question asks how the participants perceive their expressivity exhibited through their conducting. The meaning of expressivity, how musical symbols are interpreted, and how this meaning is physically expressed is unique to every individual. Yet the ensemble participating in the experience must mutually perceive these individual expressions.

34 One question and area of weakness the researcher has with symbolic interactionism is how this theoretical framework will address the phenomenon that music exists to create and share meanings unavailable through language (Reimer, 2005). “What is missed by conceiving music as being fundamentally communication is its power to go beyond all such meanings to those incapable of being designated by signals operating within the communication function” (p.

139). It will be interesting to explore and discover new ways of understanding meaning through the lens of symbolic interactionism with elements that are not intended to be explained by symbols. This relationship and any potential discoveries could reveal more understanding and more questions regarding the power of music as a communicator.

Chapter Summary

The literature examined in this chapter revealed and elaborated on known aspects of conducting (musical expressivity, skill development/curriculum, and teaching expressiveness), perception, and the research design of the current study. The perspectives offered in this review of the literature could provide further insight regarding a means of navigating the vast amount of information presented to beginning undergraduate conductors. Additional perspectives could also assist in revealing ways to allow undergraduate beginning conductors to discover expressivity through gesture with considerations to perception and how music interacts with culture. The current study places a beginning undergraduate conducting student within this cacophony of literature as they learn to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expression.

35 Chapter 3 - Methodology and Procedures

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of a beginning undergraduate conductor as they learned to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expression. Exploring the experiences of an undergraduate music student enrolled in a beginning conducting course from a Midwestern university provided this insight through the lens of the student. Through the lens of interpretivism, a beginning conducting student was observed and interviewed as they experienced the first eight weeks of their Beginning Undergraduate

Conducting Course (BUCC). The specific research questions that guide this study were:

1. When preparing for rehearsal without an audible stimulus, does the participant consider

how they will gesturally express musical intentions during their upcoming in-class

conducting experiences?

2. While conducting, to what extent does the participant recognize when expressive intent is

achieved in their conducting gestures, the ensemble’s performance, and how do they

respond to their observations?

3. After conducting an ensemble, how did the participant perceive expressivity exhibited

through their conducting?

Symbolic interactionism was an appropriate methodological framework because it explored how one acts towards things (conducting) based on individual meaning, describes meaning of such things (conducting) as derived from the social (musical) interactions with one’s peers, and how meaning is handled and modified through an interpretive process used by the who is experiencing the things (conducting) they encounter (Blumer, 1969). This chapter reveals the methodology and procedures used to by the researcher collect and analyze data.

36 Methodology

The methodology employed for this study was case study. By definition, “A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (Yin, 1994, p. 13). The researcher objectively recorded how the participant experienced the development of expressive conducting with the intent of acknowledging the multiple realities of participant perception, researcher perception, and environment influence (Stake, 1995). Stake adds that interpretation through case study allows for the recognition of new meaning, connecting them better with known understanding strengthening its comprehension with others.

Pilot Study

From February through April of 2016, an eight-week case-study investigated how two undergraduate music students (one female and one male) learned to conduct and develop considerations to elicit expression through conducting in their advanced instrumental undergraduate conducting course. Two thirty-minute interviews were conducted with each participant. The first interview was a rapport interview that revealed each participant’s pre- collegiate experiences involving music, understanding of expressive conducting, and process of interpreting music in preparation to conduct an ensemble. The second interview explored their first in-class conducting experience of the semester utilizing video elicitation. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using In Vivo, initial (open) coding, and emotional coding. Side-by- side comparison of these codes revealed a surprising similarity between the conducting and emotional experiences of the participants. Participant member-checking assured accuracy of the narrative used to represent the data and uncovered a unique depth of understanding exposed in the narrative.

37 The pilot study revealed a major discovery that strongly influenced the course of the current study; the surprising similar experiences shared by both participants. Before beginning the pilot, the researcher originally planned on investigating one participant with the intent of narrowing the focus of the pilot study. The researcher was encouraged to investigate two participants so that differing conducting perspectives could be discovered. Despite revealing differing past experiences during their rapport interviews, both participants described strikingly similar experiences after their first conducting in-class experience. This information resonated with the researcher as he once lived through similar experiences as a beginning undergraduate conductor. These similarities in experiences gave the researcher confidence that investigating one participant would be appropriate for the current study.

Research Design

Participant Selection

The only criteria for participation in this case study was that the participant had to be enrolled in the BUCC during their fall 2016 semester at a Midwestern university. The participant was randomly selected to eliminate any bias by the student of the researcher (Kim, 2016;

Gillham, 2000). Reflecting upon the pilot study, investigating one participant helped narrow and better manage collected data as the study evolved. After obtaining student emails from the

BUCC instructor, a solicitation email (seen Appendix A) was sent to the students enrolled in

BUCC. At the end of class, the elicitation email was read aloud to encourage BUCC students to participate in the study. The names of students who responded by email, indicating interest in participating in the study, were logged in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and assigned a number

(beginning with the number one). The Random Number Generator application for the iPhone 6 was used to select the participant. Confirmation of participation was finalized via email along

38 with establishing a meeting to sign consent forms (seen Appendix B), answer questions, and schedule interviews.

Research Site

The research site was the campus of the Midwestern university where the BUCC was offered in the fall of 2016. All observations occurred within the BUCC classroom. Interviews were conducted in a confidential and private study room on campus. The instructors of the

BUCC cooperated with the protocol seen in Appendix C. Due to the existing BUCC structure, the participant was observed through seven weeks of beginning conducting taught through an instrumental instructor’s perspective and three weeks of beginning conducting taught through a choral instructor’s perspective.

Researcher Role

It is important to acknowledge that the researcher was be a graduate teaching assistant

(GTA) for the BUCC with five-years of teaching experience in the public schools and having completed four-years of graduate study focusing on conducting. Being both a GTA and researcher allowed a perspective unattainable through typical external observation. It also allowed access to the research site as a participant observer versed in the indigenous language of field cite (Bhattacharya, 2012; Phelps, 2005).

Data Collection Methods

Data was collected by means of video elicitation, interviews, field observations, and journal reflections from both the participant and the researcher. Appendix D shows the timeline for which data was collected and analyzed.

39 Video Elicitation

Video elicitation was utilized to enable the participant to reflect on experiences both in a visual and a cognitive sense (Gillham, 2000). Video elicitation provided an opportunity for the participant and researcher to view expressive conducting gestures through a lens that “break out of the bounds of what is conventionally seen as a way of evidencing your research” (p. 89).

Rather than relying on vague memories or misremembered accounts, video elicitation facilitated accurate recall of participant’s in-class conducting experience and revealed new, unexpected aspects of their experiences (Henry & Fetters, 2012).

The BUCC course syllabus required enrolled students to participate in video recorded in- class conducting rounds that were later self-evaluated using a rubric (seen in Appendix F). These in-class conducting rounds were video recorded by GTAs and were later uploaded to a password protected website. On a device of their choosing, BUCC students were required to download, view, and self-evaluate their own in-class conducting as required by the course syllabus. The self-evaluation rubric asked BUCC students to assess their conducting using Likert-scale and short answer questions. Utilizing video elicitation allowed the participant to recall previously experienced activities giving them a more authentic and emotional account of their perceived conducting gestures. Researcher observation and field notes also contributed further perspective to the BUCC self-evaluation.

Interview Protocol

Schwandt (2007) describes the purpose of an interview as a way to gain “direct access to an interviewee’s experience” (p. 162). Ten semi-structured interviews helped the researcher understand how the participant’s experiences informed their conducting with expressivity. This model allowed probing in necessary areas pertaining to the research purpose and questions, while

40 allowing flexibility for new discoveries to emerge without the specificity of chronologically ordered questions (Phelps, 2005). The nature of these interviews was conversational, allowing for the participant to gain rapport and earn trustworthiness with the researcher (Gillham, 2000).

During the introduction interview, rapport was established and created a space where the participant felt comfortable uncovering personal and guarded subjectivities. The following is a brief description of the interview protocol utilized throughout the study. Detailed timelines and interview protocols can be seen in Appendix D and Appendix E respectively.

After randomly selecting the participant and securing a time and place to conduct the

Introduction Interview, the interview process began during Week 2. During this 30-minute interview, the nature of the study was discussed to establish expectations for the participant and the researcher. The participant was asked to share their past experiences in order to provide the researcher context to their understanding of music. The first interview (Interview 1) discussed the participant’s BUCC experience thus far, their understanding of gestures as symbols, and the perception of their peers within the field site. At this point interview protocols were abandoned in fear of negatively influencing the open-ended conversation. These types of interviews occurred five additional times throughout the course of the study and only occurred during weeks where the participant did not conduct in front of the class (see Non-Conducting Interview

Protocol in Appendix E).

The first Post-Conducting Interview (Interview 2) occurred during Week 3. Each of these three interviews lasted between 35 to 50-minutes depending on how in-depth the participant elaborated on their in-class conducting experience. This interview procedure was designed to capture the most authentic and un-influenced responses from the participant. The beginning of each interview began with a set of guiding questions regarding the participant’s most recent in-

41 class conducting experience to intimately engage them in the conversational, semi-structured interviews (deMarrais, 2004). This engagement maintained a progressive trajectory during each interview and did not limit further questioning that invited more stories about the participant’s experience (Kim, 2016). Following the first set of guiding questions, the participant and researcher watched the most recent in-class conducting experience once in its entirety on the participant’s lap top. During video viewing, the participant was encouraged to and reacted freely to the video by making comments aloud and providing simultaneous commentary. Elicitations inspired by the video were documented by the researcher as they occurred. Once video viewing concluded, the interview proceeded with a final set of guiding questions.

Interview questions were designed to be administered in a conversational, semi- structured format with liberty to ask additional questions that emerged. Questions focused on peer interactions, musical interaction (audible, print), and past experience were designed within a symbolic interactionalist lens. Supporting suggestions by Blumer (1969), these questions were aimed to elicit responses regarding how participants acted towards and interpreted conducting based on individual meaning encountered during the BUCC experience.

• The beginning of the interview:

o How would you describe your most recent in-class conducting experience?

o How would you describe your feeling immediately before and immediately after

your most recent in-class conducting experience?

o Were you prepared for your most recent in-class conducting experience?

o How would you describe the technical aspects of your most recent in-class

conducting experience?

42 o How would you describe the expressive aspects of your most recent in-class

conducting experience?

o Describe how peer interactions influenced your most recent in-class conducting

experience.

o Describe how musical interactions (audible, print) influenced your most recent in-

class conducting experience.

o Describe how past experiences influenced your most recent in-class conducting

experience.

• During video elicitation:

o Allow the participant to say what comes to mind.

• After video elicitation:

o Unpack elicited statements as necessary.

o Tell me about your reaction.

o Elicit conversation how about peer interactions, musical (audible, print)

interactions, and past experiences will inform future conducting.

o What did this most recent in-class conducting experience reveal to you?

o How will you prepare for the next conducting experience?

The goal of these guiding questions was to allow the participant to lead the interview in a direction that is meaningful to them based on their most recent in-class conducting experience.

They also allowed the researcher to gain further insight to how the participant perceived conducting with expressivity and what aspects of their environment informed their decisions.

All interviews were recorded on a Tascam TR-05 recorder in plain sight of both the participant and researcher. After each interview, the raw MP3 files was downloaded to the

43 researchers personal computer for transcription purposes. Garage Band (providing audio playback) and Microsoft Word (to transcribe audio) were utilized to produce transcripts. After each interview, transcribing occurred as soon as possible to allow for a more salient connection between the researcher’s short-term memory and the audio file (Bhattacharya, 2012; Gillham,

2000).

During Week 10, an Exit Interview was conducted and member check meetings were scheduled during Week 13, the week of March 19, and the Week of May 29. Member checks are vitally important to an interview process to ensure both accuracy and trustworthiness of interview transcriptions (Phelps, 2005; deMarris, 2004; Gillham, 2000). The purpose of the first member check meeting was to ensure the accuracy of all interview transcriptions. Interview transcripts were provided to the participant one week prior to member checks on a USB flash drive for their review and to facilitate ease of revision. A meeting to discuss adjustments needed to the transcripts occurred during the week of March 19, but no revisions were requested by the participant. During the week of May 29, a final member check of Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 was conducted. No revisions were requested by the participant. A debriefing statement was presented to the participant seen in Appendix H.

Field Observations

Participant field observations are a direct and firsthand account to their everyday social interactions (Schwandt, 2007). As part of a case study, field observations help the researcher keep good records of incontestable description that compliment analysis and reporting (Stake,

1995). In order to gather data regarding their lived human experiences, field observations attempt to place the researcher in the shoes of their participants within the context of the studied

44 environment. Field observations create another side of the triangulation triangle, providing another perspective to view field events (Hays, 2014; Gillham, 2000).

Field observations occurred within the BUCC classroom from Week 2 through Week 9.

Researcher observations occurred consistently throughout the participant’s conducting experiences, participation during class activities and discussions, and independent in-class conducting practice. A field observation template was created and utilized to gather observational data. A copy of this template can be found in Appendix G. The researcher’s iPad utilizing Microsoft Word was the primary means of documenting participant field observations.

Journal Reflections

Both the participant and researcher kept a journal to reflect upon our thoughts throughout the course of the current study. Bhattacharya (2012) states that maintaining a journal allows the researcher to negotiate tensions and make meaning of all aspects of their research. Sometimes these negotiations reveal mistakes, confusion, or errors in research design while clarifying roles and facilitates more reflexivity (Kim, 2016; Hays, 2014; Ortipp, 2008; Janesick, 1999).

Journaling also documented an authentic perspective throughout the course of the study, provided another space to explore and develop ideas, and created another side of the triangulation triangle (Ortipp, 2008; Phelps, 2005; Janesick, 1999). Consistent subjectivity audits from Week 1 through Week 10 allowed the participant and researcher to document ideas specific to the study. Both subjectivity audit and process journals were utilized during the data analysis process beginning in Week 10 to explore and develop ideas for future implications.

Data Management

The process for data management is outlined in Figure 3.1. To keep collected data organized in the first two levels of this chart, documents were maintained on a personal

45 computer. This included all paper documents that were transcribed into a Microsoft Word document or imported as a scanned PDF.

Gather Data

Field Observations Interviews Transcripts Journal Reflections

First Cycle Coding: In Vivo Coding

Second Cycle Coding: Initial (Open) Coding

Third Cycle Coding: Focused Coding

Synthesize Data Categorize/Organize Codes

Analyze Data

Compose Creative Non-Fiction Create Narrative Based on Centered Around Themes and the Particpant’s Voice

Figure 3.1 Data management chart.

46 Data Analysis

Data analysis consisted of sifting through interview transcripts, field observations, and journals from both the participant and the researcher. Field observations and journals were not transcribed but used to provide further context to already collected data. These artifacts served as points for triangulation, as they provided an alternative viewpoint from both the participant and researcher perspective (Hays, 2014; Gillham, 2000; Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994). The analyzation of interview transcripts occurred in three cycles; In Vivo coding, initial (open) coding, and focused coding.

In Vivo Coding

Saldaña (2016) describes In Vivo coding as an elemental coding method (foundational approach to coding) that uses the participant’s own vernacular to create codes. Charmaz states that In Vivo codes “can provide a crucial check on whether you have grasped what is significant” to the participant (as cited in Saldaña, 2016, p. 107). After interviews were transcribed, the researcher utilized this first cycle coding method by highlighting salient phrases (seen in Figure

3.2).

330 J: When I started working on the Chapter 4 and 5 ones, usually I work through them all and then I chose one that I like so I can get practice doing all of them. And I look at it and I think, 331“Okay, what does it start on?” The next chapter is fractional beat preparation and I’m not very good at beats other than one or four. So 332I’ve had to do a lot of practicing, breath preps and the 333fractional breath prep. Because I don’t want him to be like, 334“Your breath wasn’t good and they didn’t come in on time.” I don’t want that to be me. So I do that and then I will stand at my table. I will get a piece of paper and my book and 335I will make Greg very annoying stand like right there and put his hand out so I don’t hit it, so I don’t become too big. Those are the biggies from my video, then 336I work on the whole wrist cocking thing and 337resistance.

Figure 3.2 In Vivo coding example.

47 The saliency of these codes provided further insight to the participant’s perception of conducting expressivity. These highlighted codes were used, both in part and also verbatim, in the narratives seen in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5.

Initial (Open) Coding

Initial coding, (also known as open coding), breaks down qualitative data into discrete parts that are examined and compared (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). According to Charmaz, the goal of initial coding is for the researcher to allow to remain open to all possible theoretical directions suggested by data interpretation (Saldaña, 2016). In Vivo coding provided the researcher a grand perspective of the collected data. This allowed for categories within the data to organically surface, shown in Figure 3.3 below.

330 J: When I started working on the Chapter 4 and 5 ones, usually 330practice-how I do it I work through them all and then I chose one that I like so I can get practice doing all of them. And I look at it and I think, 331 “Okay, what does it start on?” The next chapter is fractional 331self talk-how do I prep beat preparation and I’m not very good at beats other than one 332 332 practice-breath preps or four. So I’ve had to do a lot of practicing, breath preps and 333practice-fractional breath the 333fractional breath prep. Because I don’t want him to be like, 334 prep “Your breath wasn’t good and they didn’t come in on time.” I 334self talk-motivation not don’t want that to be me. So I do that and then I will stand at my 335 being called out table. I will get a piece of paper and my book and I will make 335practice-peer help Greg very annoying stand like right there and put his hand out so 336practice-wrist cocking I don’t hit it, so I don’t become too big. Those are the biggies from 337practice-resistence my video, then 336I work on the whole wrist cocking thing and 337resistance.

Figure 3.3 Initial (open) coding example.

This second cycle of coding revealed 750 initial codes. The researcher used a spreadsheet to organize initial codes using colors to delineate codes that emerged during particular interviews

(seen in Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4 Initial code spreadsheet example. Focused Coding

Focused coding searches for frequent or significant codes within data to develop salient categories or themes (Saldaña, 2016). According to Dey, focus codes do not always constitute elements shared with a common set of features nor do they always have sharp boundaries as different degrees of belonging can exist within themes (Saldaña, 2016).

49 Themes (39): Self (305) Conducting (239) Others (206) Self (102) Conducting-Expressivness (77) College-Ensemble (41) Doing Music-Positive (33) Conducting-Negative (44) Peers (36) Self Talk (30) Conducting-Postive (43) College Teacher-Positive (27) Doing Music-Negative (27) Conducdting Class (31) Conductor (23) Practice-Positive (27) Conducting-Technique (20) People (16) Watching (12) Symbol (12) HS Band Director-Postive (16) Public School K-12 (11) Score (6) Conducdting Class (14) Teaching-Positive (11) Choral Conducting (3) Friends (13) Being Told (10) Music (2) College Teacher-Negative (9) Journaling (8) Instrumental Conducting (1) Family (8) Evaluation-Reflection (7) Students (3) Experience (6) Teaching-Negative (6) Interpretation (5) Practice-Negative (5) Teacher-Negative (5) Teacher-Positive (3) College-Lessons (3)

Figure 3.5 Initial codes-themes spreadsheet.

The researcher used a spreadsheet to organize initial codes as a means of discovering themes

(seen in Figure 3.5). The numbers in parenthesis denotes the reoccurrence of initial codes within a theme. 39 categories of initial codes emerged to create three main themes; self, conducting, and others. These three themes, along with parts and verbatim In Vivo codes, were used to compose a creative non-fiction seen in Chapter 4.

Creative Non-Fiction

Caulley (2008) describes creative non-fiction as a way to present factual information, while utilizing the constructs of fictional writing, to create a story based on the perspective of the participants (the “facts”) while openly communicating the writer’s subjectivity regarding the topic. The nature of the current study involving interviews, field observations, and journals lend

50 to creative non-fiction because of how the researcher was able to create scenes based on collected data. Representing data in this way could communicate a more affective message to the academic community. Reimer (2005) describes music similarly as an “affecting presence” (p.

94), a source of gaining meaning through feeling and is a “direct presentation of the feelingly dimension of experience” (p. 95). One could argue that music composition and writing narrative achieve the same goal but through different mediums. Due to the subjective and interpretive nature of both music and narrative, both are combined in elements of fact (literal written notes and words on the page) and fiction (unique interpretation and aesthetic experiences that exist within individuals). The data collected and analyzed from the current study was composed and presented in a creative non-fiction, telling the story of the participant seen in Chapter 4.

Reciprocity and Ethics

Ethics and confidentiality are always a concern in research, especially when possibly revealing participant vulnerabilities (Kim, 2016; Tisdale, 2014). An Institutional Review Board

(IRB) approval was obtained on August 23, 2016 before beginning the current study. Aside from

IRB approval, open communication and transparency helped ferment sound ethics, confidently, and respect with everyone involved in the study (Tisdale, 2014). This also helped establish rapport between the participant and the researcher (Creswell, 2007). Along with signing the consent forms for accepting participation in the study, it was clearly explained that the participant’s identity would remain confidential through the use pseudonyms and due diligence in securing all aspects of the data collection and analysis processes. Protocols, procedures, and details regarding the study were thoroughly discussed to elevate any confusion and ferment confidentiality.

51 During the first member check meeting, the participant and researcher reviewed all interview transcripts and discussed the data analysis process. As an added measure to maintain their confidentiality, the participant requested the addition of the following protocols and procedures:

1. Interview transcripts, participant and researcher journals, and field notes in their entirety

cannot be used within the dissertation. Only approved, member checked excerpts can be

used.

2. The original or recreated course syllabus cannot be included within the dissertation.

3. Original documents cannot be included within the dissertation. Only recreations, with all

institution identifiers removed, can be used.

The inclusion of the above, along with previously discussed protocols and procedures, ensured that trust and respect were earned from the participant. This allowed the participant to share their experiences and stories in a sensible environment.

Trustworthiness and Rigor

In a qualitative case study, the researcher provides trustworthiness and rigor through means of triangulation. Hays (2014) explains triangulation as seeking and utilizing multiple data sources and methods to answer your research questions. Woodside (2010) adds that triangulation often includes:

1. Direct observation by the researcher within the environments of the case.

2. Probing by asking participants for explanations and interpretations of these direct

observations.

3. Analyses of written documents occurring within the case environment.

Triangulation of data for the current study occurred utilizing what Woodside (2010) suggests:

52 1. Researcher perspectives through field observations.

2. Probing for participant explanations and interpretations through interviews.

3. Analyses of all written data (researcher field notes, interview transcripts with video

elicitation, researcher journals, and participant journals).

Video elicitation added another level of rigor by providing a very tangible primary data source to the interview process (Gillham, 2000). Video elicitation was only used in the confidential interviews within the study and nowhere else.

Peer reviews of transcript coding, narrative analysis, and narrative representation with experts within the field were also utilized as an additional layer of rigor to ensure authenticity of collect data. Member checks were also integrated into the study to ensure trustworthiness and rigor. The researcher’s role as a GTA for the BUCC served as another layer of trustworthiness and rigor because of the academic expectations and ethics assumed by the GTA position.

Maintaining balance between being a GTA and a researcher helped the researcher preserve participant trust as well as diligence in procedures.

53 Chapter 4 - Jane’s Story

Introduction

The following creative non-fiction was written from the perspective an undergraduate beginning conducting student, the participant of the current study. Jane is the pseudonym she selected for herself. This presentation of findings tells Jane’s story of self, conducting, and others while navigating two spaces that were important to her; the classroom and the reflection space.

Within the “first space”, only Jane’s second in-class conducting experience was depicted. This experience not only provided the most data of the three in-class conducting experiences but was the most profound, salient, rich, and detailed. Direct quotes are frequently used throughout the piece in an effort bring the participant’s experience to life framed within Jane’s unique syntax, inflection, and voice. This story is intended to place the reader in the mind of Jane as she experienced eight weeks of her beginning conducting course, learning to conduct and develop her considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expressivity.

Prologue

When you come into someone’s home there are usually two different spaces that exist.

The first space contains everything you want people to see. A pristine space to host and entertain guests where everything is in its place and happens on cue. An environment filled with lively conversation, hearty laughs, and the smell of exquisite cuisine, complimented by lush libations where people can be safe, relaxed, and comfortable. A place to show off your nice things, to show your worth in society, to show that you have everything together. Then there is a second space, a space where you hide everything that you don’t want people to see. An overflowing pile of dirty laundry, piles of receipts and un-paid bills, and your entire home-office that was spread all over the kitchen counter. A bathroom littered by hair products, make-up, and everything you

54 put on to be “presentable to people”. A space that contains the hostility, tension, and animosity of an ongoing feud, put on hold and locked away so that everyone doesn’t know that you don’t have everything together. These two types spaces exist in houses, in classrooms, in relationships, in people. Two separate spaces within one entity, with only one beholder.

This is my journey, my story my voice, through two spaces as a beginning conductor.

The first space is the classroom. A space where we meet as a class to learn how to be better conductors. A space where I need to show everyone that I can conduct. A space where I need to put on a face to get along with everyone, to be a team player, to be pleasant, to get a good grade.

A space where I need to bury everything that is wrong with me so that I look like I have it all together. The second space is my reflection space. The practice room, my apartment, my mind, my past. The place where I try to figure out what to do with my left hand, my face, and to show something more than just time. The place where I ponder why this is so hard, why people can’t figure out how to conduct simple excerpts, why people have to be someone they are not on the podium. The place where I deal with everything I hate about myself and that I don’t have together. As dark as this second space is, it is where the magic happens. Where I sift through the noise to discover myself, my self-worth, my expressiveness, how I can impact people through my conducting. This space drives everything emotional about me. It is my secret but the secret that will help me be a teacher, a conductor, a better person.

This is the voice that lives in my head. The voice that only I hear. The voice that I see.

The voice that I keep from everyone so that they can see what I want them to see on the outside.

Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Right?

55 First Space

Enter The Classroom. Welcome to beginning conducting! Just another day in a place that reeks of confidence, arrogance, insecurity, fear, annoyance, pressure, nervousness, and surprise all at the same time. I am not really sure if anyone is truly “happy” or “excited” to walk into this place. I mean our class is comfortable with each other. Things are moving at a good pace and I think we are building nicely on the skills we’ve developed from the last chapter. We aren’t learning too much at a time and we aren’t expected to do too much at a time. The teacher is nice and makes the class fun. Ugh, I can hear our recorder section warming up. Where do they keep coming from? Why can’t you play your primary instrument or learn a secondary instrument like everyone else? Right, they are vocalists…Can’t they sit somewhere else? Well at least I can sit closer to my own instrument and part. God, I hate recorders.

I am glad that there are other people like me here. We learn by watching others, so we know what not to do. We are introverted and don’t like readily volunteering to get up and conduct. We keep to ourselves and try to go unnoticed. We understand that we are in a beginning conducting class and are here to learn. We aren’t afraid of anyone like the teacher or our peers.

But we just get nervous and freak out. I really like these types of people!

Then there are the people who expect to do really well every time they go up to conduct.

People who think they are really good and who try too hard and make it look like they know what they are doing. They project what they think a good conductor should look like but it just looks stupid, fake, and arrogant. They think it’s all about them but it really makes me (and probably the rest of the class) not want to play for them. God they are so dumb.

To Go or Not To Go, Is It A Question? Chapter 4 right? Yea, okay, phew…I should probably volunteer to conduct today. I mean this is the second time I have conducted in this

56 class. And after the first time, I guess I’m still alive. Ugh I just need to get it over with, right?

What’s that cliché saying, “The more experience I get the easier it gets, the better I become…”

Yea, that’s going to be annoying to hear for the rest of my life. The first time I conducted was way worse than I thought. My pattern was too big, it was like I was a drum major all over again.

I guess being in that position is hurting me more than it is helping. It must have been obvious that I was a drum major in high school, the teacher totally called me out hardcore. At least him yelling, “AND DOWN!” made everyone laugh. Ugh, why it is so hard to show what I have in my head? I guess I have a lot of habits that need to be broken. At least I practiced my breath a lot, the teacher complimented me a lot on that last time. But maybe I practiced it too much? I should’ve worked on my pattern size more. How does this eventually become expressive? It’s probably one of those things where you have to do the basics well before you can be expressive.

Ah, why is this so hard?!?!? Hopefully my practicing pays off this time. I think I worked really hard but we will see. Conducting is more than what people realize it is. You can’t just go up there and look like any professional conductor. Oh God, he called on me. Well duh, your hand was up.

Remember use a smaller pattern, use smaller gestures, and conduct inside the piece of paper. And don’t do too much, less is more. Use your score for cues and dynamics but don’t forget to look at them. Look at them, not in-between chairs. Give them a smile, “the look,” something to show that you actually enjoy what you are doing and aren’t terrified out of your mind! Oh and make sure you are listening too. Your gestures only matter if it is what they need.

So you need to listen to what they are doing. Pay attention to yourself more, to what you are doing. Give up control to gain control, right? Yea, all of the aesthetic and artistic things. This makes you look expressive. This makes you look like the music, right?

57 Phew, you got this. Oh God, I’m not ready yet. Shut up, you’ll never be ready. Stop psyching yourself out, get of your own head. Just do it. You just need more reps doing it right.

Oh, yea…my baton and music would probably be helpful. That was stupid of me, now I have walk back to my seat like an idiot. Heh, sorry everyone. Well that was awkward, at least they are laughing.

You know what, I am ready to do this. I feel comfortable, I know that I prepared well.

Getting my friend to help me practice while they watched TV was a good idea. Conducting for them during the commercials gave me enough time in-between to make adjustments. And it worked out that they didn’t really know what I was doing. I ended up just telling them what to look for and they told me what they saw. My pattern was big. My pattern got smaller. My wrist looks cocked and tense. I smiled a little. It seemed like a more real opinion because they had no idea what conducting was. So they just called it like they saw it. I should really do this with people in my class.

Wait, how do you adjust this thing? Why can’t we just use a normal music stand? Don’t look at me like that! You didn’t adjust this podium any better the other day now did you…buddy? Shut up Jane, you are on the podium now! Look happy or something.

Conducting. Alright Jane, breathe. Bring your arms up and look at them. Smile! Here we go. Dead, live, and one. Yes, they came in on the “and!” Okay, okay, keep moving. This is going good. There is resistance, I’m not huge like last time, I’m using less shoulder and more wrist, and my wrist is flat for once! You know the ensemble is playing pretty well right now. My technique must not be too bad and they must be somewhat comfortable with what I am doing.

Now look at them, look pleasant, use facial expression. Smile at them Jane, raise your eyebrows, something! CONFIDENCE! Why isn’t anyone looking at me? At least my friends are…aww,

58 thanks! Okay now look down at your score. The phrase…conduct the phrase. Do what you wrote on the score Jane, “Crescendo-RESISTENCE!” Okay now do it, make your arm do the thing.

Why is it fighting me?!?!? This didn’t happen when I practiced it. Oh shit, what am I going to do here? What is going on with my left hand? The ensemble isn’t responding to my gesture! I don’t want to look stupid! Well great, now I am done with the dumbest 34 seconds ever. What just happened Jane? Was any of that expressive or was I just a drum major, beating time the entire time? I conducted the phrase, right? Well we’ll see how this goes. I hope I don’t have to move through water, waltz around the room, or spin a clay pot. Okay, let’s get this over with. Smile at the teacher!

Teacher Feedback. “So, how did it go?” Isn’t that the stupidest question ever? You know how it went, just tell me what I did wrong and what to do to fix it! “I thought you improved a lot. I can tell you worked really hard from the last time you conducted and it certainly showed! Now let’s talk about resistance. Put your arms out, pretend you are holding this cannonball.” Oh okay. Well, here it is. What do I do now? What do you want me to do with this…cannonball? Why are you having me do this? I practiced and did what I saw almost everyone do the other day. I guess some of that wasn’t the right thing to be expressive and show this phrase. Oh, you want me to move this cannonball up and down as the ensemble plays? But it looks and feels very weird. Whoa, this actually works! They are doing a thing in response to a thing I am doing with this cannonball! Okay that was cool but can I put down this cannonball now? I’m sure other people need this cannonball too. Please take it back, now. “Good job, keep up the good work!” Phew, well that wasn’t that bad. It was very nice to hear that I am improving.

That makes me feel a lot better with where I am, I must be on the right track. And that was really good feedback too. It was actually fun and I laughed a lot despite the fact I had to hold an

59 imaginary cannonball. Now I have to sit and listen to this same song how many more times? And have to sit through the recorders missing the same notes in measures 5-6? God, stupid recorders…

The Rest Of The Class. Well that was fantastic! But wait, you know what is even more fantastic? Having to sit here, playing and listening to this same song for like 50 more times. God,

I hate recorders so much. Oh and having to sit here and watch everyone else being told the same exact thing as me. Yay…Why are people so stupid? There are like 50 people in the class. We have played the same piece 50 times. The teacher has made the same eight sets of comments 50 times. Why can’t people figure this out? Breathe, just do it the way the teacher says to. Oh and by the way, it’s the same you would breathe normally…idiot. Prep beat, are you kidding? How many times have we done this? Do you not pay attention or watch when people mess this up?

How much more can you break down a dead and a live gesture? Do you even practice conducting? Of course you don’t. You just assume it’s going to happen because you’ve seen it a million times since fifth grade?

Ugh, this person is conducting. Don’t walk up to the podium to conduct your beginning conducting class and think that you are awesome. You are in a beginning conducting class, no one is awesome in beginning conducting. Do you not realize that you are a student, in a beginning conducting class? You don’t already know everything about conducting. That is why you are taking this class, because you want to learn. Well, it is okay to have high goals and standards for yourself. And at least they are trying, right? I guess I could give them a break.

But why do you have to be an arrogant prick when you go up there? What are they doing with their face and hands? I didn’t know “Look like you are making love to the music” could be an interpretation in the score. I’m obviously wrong. Jesus, I think I just threw up in my

60 instrument. Do you really think conducting is about you? Do you even know what you look or care how people interpret what you are saying with your disgusting face? Really, you are questioning the teacher? Don’t be an asshole. Just take the teacher’s feedback to heart and don’t blow if off like that. Next person, thank God! Is this going to be another one of those people who thinks they are hot shit on the podium?

Hey, they actually look pleasant. Thanks for not looking like an asshole! Wow, they have a such nice smile and they look so relaxed. This might be good. Here we go. One, two, breathe, play. Whoa, everyone came in and it didn’t sound like death. Stop thinking Jane, keep playing and watching. Wow, they just looked at where they wanted sound to come from and smiled.

People are looking at them, I am looking at them. We actually feel like “an ensemble.” How did they make it look that easy? I guess facial expression can really get you a long way. Come on recorders, you have missed that pick-up EVERY SINGLE TIME.

That was really good, good for them! The teacher is giving them a lot of compliments. I can’t wait to see the feedback they get. Wait it’s over? No feedback? They didn’t do anything wrong? No, that’s impossible!!! I really wanted to watch them. I learn best by watching others and you took away the best learning opportunity I’ve had all day!

Well, I guess we are done for the day. Do I really have to fill out a self-evaluation on my conducting from today? Does the teacher like inflicting us to self-deprivation? Stupid grade.

Okay, I really need to get this case looked at. Can’t worry about that now. I only have six minutes to get this piece of junk into my locker before History III. Ugh, can’t I listen to recorder for another hour instead?

61 Second Space

Second Conducting Evaluation.

Let’s Get This Over With. Thank. God. I. Am. Home. Ah this couch is so comfy, maybe

I can shut my eyes for a few minutes? No Jane, you need to do your conducting evaluation because it’s due tomorrow right away. You know how those GAs are, they want your papers the second you sit down. What time is it? Good it’s only 11:35pm. I hate watching myself. It is the most annoying, stupid thing ever. I better not have resting bitch face when I watch this.

I guess I do need to see what I am actually doing so I can improve. It really has helped me improve since the first time I conducted. And the teacher is right, my perception of what I am doing is more than likely not what I am actually doing in reality. Well I suppose these evaluations are actually good for me. At least they are part of my grade, so they aren’t totally pointless…

Okay let’s get this over with. Where is my video again? Here it is. Why is this website so confusing? Click here to download. Click. Downloading File. Why is my computer so slow? Or is it the Wi-Fi connection? I don’t even know. It’s the Wi-Fi, my roommate is playing video games. It must be nice to have time to play video games on a weeknight. Download Complete.

Alright. Open file. Press play. Click. Wait, where is my conducting evaluation? Maybe it’s in my backpack. Press pause. Click.

Good, here it is. What is on here again? That’s right, a lot of things. Preparatory, Beat

Patterns, Prep & Release, Left Hand, Fractional Beat Preps, Divided Meters, Interpretation,

Fermata, Preparation and Rehearsal, Overall Effectiveness. All of the things to look for. How many times am I going to have to watch this video to fill all of this out? Woof, here goes. This is

62 going to hurt. Can I listen to recorders instead? Oh wait, I will be doing that too. Press play.

Click.

Preparatory. My posture, stance, and presence don’t look too bad! I feel that my drum major experience gave me a leg up with my setup and stance. I look pretty grounded and confident standing on the podium, but I do need to open up my chest and not collapse my shoulders. I look pleasant a lot of the time but you can defiantly tell when I am nervous and worried. Is that what presence means?

Hand, arm, and baton position/grip are okay. Except my wrist. Wow, it really is that tense and cocked and not flat at all. My baton is really high, like really high. Yikes.

My beginning eye contact was good, I looked at them and not down with my first prep!

Breathe, nailed it. I worked on my breathe the most. One of the GAs said I had the best breathe of the day!

Proper tempo and style were okay, they came in together. Right? Right.

Ictus and rebound looked good.

I think I did really good in some areas but need to improve my wrist and my face.

Final score: 3.5/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Probably my best category today. Okay posture, breathe, and ictus. Hands look bad, fix this. MORE FACE!

Beat Patterns. Accuracy and clarity is okay, I guess. I feel like I have a pretty good basic pattern. It looks like a four pattern?

Ictus/rebound is alright, I need to stop focal conducting. I thought I was showing each beat away from center. Nope, I-see-each-ictus-right-there-in-the-center-where-beat-one-is. I guess this is what perception vs. reality means. I hate reality.

63 Conducting field, what does this mean? Does this mean conducting plane?

Appropriate style, my pattern is probably way too big. Yes, my pattern is way too big. I am way too tall and wide for the music. Yea, I look very big…just like a drum major. Great.

I think I have the basics of my pattern. I am just way too big and need to not focal conduct anymore.

Final score: 2/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Overall pattern okay. Size is WAY TOO BIG.

Prep & Release. Hand/baton position, didn’t I already talk about this? Well I guess just looking at my hand/baton position, it’s bad. My wrist is cocked up and I suppose that is why my baton is too high. Yea, I need to make my wrist flat.

Appropriate style, I don’t know. Everyone came in and there was sound, right? We haven’t really talked about releases yet so I just did the drum major thing and they stopped playing. That was good, right? The written dynamic in the excerpt was forte so I suppose my big release was okay? I think my preps are very clear and concise. I practiced those a lot with mirroring and my breathe.

Effectiveness, sure…because everyone came in and ended together?

Well my preps are okay but my releases could be a lot better. But what do I do if we haven’t really talked about how show releases?

Final score, 2.5/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Baton position looks awful. Figure out how to release better.

Left Hand. Do I even try here?

Independence, nope…looks pretty connected to my right hand.

64 Appropriate use, does “with the right hand” count?

Style, HA!

Dynamics/phrasing, okay I actually did something here. My left hand fought me when I tried showing gestures with resistance and it was always in a mirror. I showed a crescendo with just my left hand but it was a very sharp angle. My wrist almost looks as cocked as my right hand. I tried leading with my wrist but it was obviously in my head, perception vs. reality again.

At least it was a textbook straight lined, elevator crescendo!

Cues, nope.

My left hand looks so dumb, I don’t even know what I was doing with it. Is zero an option for a score?

Final score, 1/5.

Written comments on evaluation: NOPE, THIS WAS VERY BAD!

Fractional Beat Preps. Clear/concise, eh…it’s not awful but not great. My dead gesture going to my breathe looks pretty good, I practiced that a lot. I am still not comfortable at starting on beat two or three but entrances on one and four are okay.

Effectiveness, good right? The ensemble came in at the right time and I didn’t hear any false entrances.

Hand/arm/baton position, why is this category in so many places? Aren’t they all asking the same thing or am I supposed to think of it in context to the specific area?

My wrist is still cocked, it is still not flat, and my baton is still high.

Final score, 2/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Good for some, need to be comfortable with all beats.

Hands still look awful.

65 Divided Meters. THANK GOD WE HAVEN’T DONE ONE OF THESE YET. I guess I will give myself a one since we haven’t covered this yet?

Final score, 1/5.

Written comments on evaluation: NA

Interpretation. Appropriate style/displays musical sensitivity, appropriate and display are key words that did NOT happen.

Phrasing shape and contour, the only shape and contour I showed were the angles in my wrists. Oh and my straight line crescendo, don’t forget about that. Oh yea, the cannon ball thing.

I mean it helped me but after the fact…

Appropriate use of dynamics/tempo alterations, no and no. The only dynamics were loud and loud, thanks drum major pattern…not! At least there were no tempo changes. Then I probably would have showed loud, slow down a lot, and more loud.

Musical intent through non-verbal gestures/facial expressions, intent in my head…sure thing, got that covered! Through non-verbal gestures/facial expressions, nope. I mean I smiled and looked pleasant. But did that really affect the interpretation of the music or just let everyone know that I was trying really hard to fake-it?

Whelp, that was just as good as my left-hand evaluation.

Final score, 1/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Great ideas in my head! But they just stayed in there…

Fermata. Phew, dodged that bullet. I guess another one since we haven’t done this yet.

Final score, 1/5.

Written comments on evaluation: NA

66 Preparation and Rehearsal. Demonstrates knowledge of score, well I at least marked my score. I marked the dynamics, the melody, the peaks of phrases, and where things happen within the ensemble. And all in different colored highlighters! And because I rarely looked down at my score, I would say I knew it. Demonstrating it, yea I don’t think that happened.

Eye contact, well I rarely looked down. I guess I had good eye contact? I mean no one was looking at me aside from my friends.

Identification and correction of musical problems, um…I don’t think this happened.

Efficient use of time (pacing), yea…why are these last two categories here? Were we supposed to have time to rehearse the ensemble?

Other than not rehearsing, I guess I did okay with marking my score and looking at people.

Final score, 3/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Good markings. Was I supposed to rehearse today?

Overall Effectiveness. Non-verbal communication, well I mean music happened.

Everyone started/stopped at the same time and no one died. But that is all nuts and bolts, technique, the stuff that should happen as long as you show the ensemble when to start. I mean I showed a crescendo. But did the ensemble really crescendo because I showed one or did they just read the music like they are supposed to? That crescendo was a textbook elevator though, accompanied by a straight and locked arm. I also had the worst looking wrists ever seen in conducting. Both of those count for points, right?

Musicality, yea that didn’t happen. I mean the ensemble played fine but I don’t think I did anything to contribute to anyone’s musicality. I didn’t do enough because the ensemble and teacher didn’t realize what I was trying to do. They kind of did something when I moved my left

67 hand but then they stopped. And then they looked so confused. I need to get better at this if I want to be a good conductor/teacher.

Final score, 1.5/5.

Written comments on evaluation: Music happened. I need to get better at showing how music happens.

Finally Done. Well that was pure torture. I guess I have a better idea of how to prepare for the next time I conduct. Everyone is right. My perception of what I am doing is not what is happening in reality, the important part of this cliché phrase. I do need to get better at this. I need more experience doing it right. I need to practice and prepare so I don’t go up there and mess it all up. Crap, I spilled coffee on my conducting evaluation. At least there is proof that I was awake while filling this out.

I suppose I better add this video to the folder with the rest of them. My digital reminders of how I suck at life. I can’t wait to delete them, ALL. God, I really need to organize this desktop. Another reminder of how I suck at life. Click. Drag. Drop.

Journaling

Reflecting on the First Conducting Experience. I never have a decent amount of time to sit down and do this. I always leave interviews thinking, “Ah, I should have talked about this.” or

“I should have mentioned that.” I am an afterwards thinker. I think better when I can sit down, think about something, and write it out. I just wish I could just sit outside, enjoy a cup of coffee, feel the warmth of the sun, and write everything I feel. Just like all of those other perfect people you see on campus who have their shit all together. Not me. Not a music major who is journaling at 10:00pm on a Saturday night instead of out on the town with their friends. After a full day of practicing, homework, more practicing, and more homework, I still have to finish this. At least

68 the apartment is quiet.

This past week I conducted and it was extremely okay. After watching my video, I don’t look as prepared as I felt, the technical problems were obvious, and I just looked stupid. Instead of giving 100% of myself to the ensemble, I was thinking about all of the things I was doing wrong. I was talking to myself so much I couldn’t even connect with the ensemble. The mad, blank expression on my face made me look distant and disconnected from everything. My expressiveness wasn’t as good as it should have been and you could tell that I was not comfortable.

I remember the rest of the class struggling with the same things. I can’t really figure out why everyone, me included, comes up to conduct and has the same problems. I don’t think we are all struggling because we aren’t trying. I mean I see some people practicing outside of class. I think a lot of people are like me, we’re in our own heads too much and we aren’t comfortable yet. I mean I just stopped trying to be expressive because I wasn’t comfortable. In our minds we freak out and we just forget everything.

Changing this is going to be hard. As musicians, it seems that we are trained to be in a constant state of self-criticism. It’s defiantly bleeding into my conducting. All of these negative thoughts and loads of self-criticism prevents me from letting myself go, to show the emotion of the music, how I am feeling inside to everyone outside. I mean we sit in ensemble rehearsals, even some classes, and are constantly badgered, belittled, and told that we are the shittiest musicians ever. Well duh, that’s why we’re here. Isn’t that your job as our teachers? To show your student’s new perspectives and different ways to approach the same thing? Why don’t you find more ways to help us instead of constantly reminding us of something that we already know?

69 I don’t know. On one hand we deserve it because we do suck at playing, conducting, augmented sixth chords…no, those are just stupid. But at the same time, maybe less focus needs to be on constant perfection and motivation through fear. Maybe that will allow us to let go, allow us to get out of ourselves and be the music.

Maybe there’s a connection between this and the interviews for this study. I’ve been struggling to break down the walls I’ve created around myself. Over the years they have been reinforced and fortified. They keep me and my emotions at a very significant distance from people. I mean I am really trying to let my guard down during these interviews so I can be raw and as unfiltered as possible. But it’s really hard. In a way, it’s similar to what I am feeling about my conducting. Maybe these walls are the reason why I am so critical of myself. The reason why

I talk to myself so much while I am up on the podium. The reason why I can’t just let go and show what I feel on the inside. But what do I know, I am just a stupid undergrad who needs to practice more and try harder. Huh, that was nice to get off my chest. Thanks journal!

I am glad I conducted and watched my tape, as painful as both were. I am glad the teacher gave me specific things for me to work on with my technique and pattern size. I will defiantly steal what was done with other people in the class and try it on me. The water- resistance thing, the spinning clay thing, conducting with your arm on the music stand thing, conducting inside of different pieces of paper thing. Do all of the conducting things!

Now to do this augmented sixth chord worksheet thing. What time is it, 11:00pm? You know, this might just go to the “do it tomorrow” pile. I wonder if a new episode of Sherlock came out. Only one way to find out…

Reflecting on the Second Conducting Experience. Oh, hey there Saturday night! I know, right? 10:30pm and I’m living it up in my journal again. That’s okay, I actually like journaling

70 over the weekend. It makes me reflect on my week musically. It’s especially helpful during weeks when I conducted in class but I also when I watched my video during the same week. It’s fresh in my mind and it’s a good reminder on what I messed up on. Just like when you see new things when you watch a movie again? Or not…

Well I conducted again this week and it was immensely better than the last time. The teacher was proud of my growth and the practice I put into it. That was really good to hear, I’m glad that my effort didn’t go unnoticed. I think my technique improved the most because we hardly spent any time working on it. My left hand though, it doesn’t do anything that I want it to.

And my face, resting bitch face again? Why do I always clearly remember the things I do wrong?

Ugh, I didn’t think I was in my head as much as I was the first time. Wrong there. I think I’m so incredibly self-conscious and terrified of making mistakes that I can’t get myself to at least smile or give the slightest hint of emotion. Because I’m afraid, I’m afraid of looking stupid. The funny thing is that in reality, I look stupid because of my completely emotionless face.

Lately the teacher has been having people in the class take a different approach to showing expression in their conducting. One person was told to spin wet clay to show a crescendo and some phrase shape. This was cool because the person had never spun clay before but them mimicking the teacher helped the show the ensemble how to shape. It worked really well for them. Another person was asked to waltz around the podium while the ensemble played to show the character and style they wanted. Not only did their movement help their upper body show the style of the piece, it made them change their facial expression in a very genuine way.

Both of these completely changed the character of the piece and how the ensemble played.

I tried doing both the clay thing and the waltzing thing in my conducting, to show phrasing with resistance especially. I actually practiced them a lot. I wasn’t expressive enough

71 and what happened when I actual conducted? Nothing. Okay, not nothing. I did show some shape and phrasing with my left hand. It must have not been enough because the ensemble started to do something but then they stopped and looked confused. God, I was so close to doing something other than beating time!

So what did the teacher give me to help show resistance? A cannonball. Yep, a big ol’ heavy cannonball. And you know what, pretending to hold that stupid thing gave me something different to think about when trying to create resistance. Before I was thinking about leading with my wrist or moving my arm through water. I think I will use that from now on because it seemed to really help me. It’s really interesting how things not really related to conducting have helped me understand and be able to practice my own conducting better.

I’ve realized something in class this week. I feel that the structure of the class is to give us as little information as possible. To see what we can do with it, do it, and get feedback on what we did. Those of us who are taking the feedback from other people, as well as ourselves, are more successful than those who don’t seem to respond to feedback at all. I know that I learn better when I can watch other people and learn from their mistakes. The people who aren’t learning from the experience of others aren’t improving and are still making very basic mistakes.

I still can’t believe how people “don’t get it” yet. I mean how many times have you seen/played the excerpt you have to conduct? And you still don’t know how to start it, what tempo you want to take at, where the melody jumps around too, or how to show a four pattern? I know I don’t have a reason to talk but I at least figured out the basics already. There are some people that just don’t seem to give a rat’s ass about this class or their future for that matter. You want to be a music teacher right? And you can’t figure out the most fundamental, most routine, and probably the most essential part of staring an ensemble? Your classroom? Your future

72 students and the future of this profession? God, I hope that I don’t ever let myself slip to that level.

But now I digress. Tomorrow I will wake up, look in the mirror, and see the same crappy conductor that should be spending more time in this journal. It’s been nice to have a safe place to get these things off my chest. What time is it, 11:15pm? Just enough time to catch the new

Sherlock and still get five hours of sleep!

Reflecting on the Third Conducting Experience. Oh hey, Friday night…yea, that’s right.

Friday! Don’t worry, it’s still like 11:30pm. But let’s get to it and talk about this past week!!!

So I thought we were supposed to conduct on Monday but we didn’t for some reason.

Great, no problem! When the class was over, the teacher gave us an assignment to record ourselves conducting something later in the book. So I thought that we were supposed to be working on that for Wednesday’s class, instead of preparing our in-class conducting excerpts. So

I get to class on Wednesday and the teacher is like, “Okay, people are going to conduct today!

And YOU are going to go first!” They were looking right at me with the biggest, most encouraging and enthusiastic smile ever. And I was like, “Oh shit! Oh my God, you have to be kidding me! I don’t want to go first, I am so not prepared!” Not only was I going to conduct, but

I was supposed to have harmonically analyzed my entire score, know something about the composer, and be ready to talk about any of that on the spot. Nope, didn’t do that either. At least

I got to choose the piece I got to conduct. And thank God that I didn’t have to talk about the analysis/composer stuff!

But here’s the weird thing, I felt that this one was the best I’ve ever conducted! Yea I freaked out when I found out I was conducting and my hands did that shaky thing while I was walking to the podium. But once I got up there, got set, and looked at everyone, I got calmer.

73 This time there actually was resistance with my left hand and the ensemble grew with me! And I was able to look at them, like really look at them. This was so encouraging, I felt like we were actually working with each other and not fighting each other. I did not feel this way about the first two times I conducted. But this time I feel like what I did made a difference in the ensemble.

Everyone, including the teacher, gave me great feedback afterwards! They said that they liked how I lifted them off a note at the end of the second phrase. They liked how I smiled, how looked pleasant, how I looked confident, and how I gave them good eye contact with facial expression! It was easier for me to do all of this this time around. I was able to listen to what they were doing and pay less attention to what I was doing. Maybe it was because the ensemble was singing and not playing instruments, recorders, or playing more than four parts. Either way, I smiled more because I felt comfortable!

Maybe because I wasn’t so prepared and over practiced on one just one excerpt, like in the past. It gave me a chance to NOT know what to expect and just react to them. In a weird way, this helped. When I over prepared the first two times I conducted, my conducting felt scripted.

That might have contributed to why what I was doing wasn’t working very well, especially the expressive parts. This time, I didn’t know what to expect and I was living in the moment. I guess you can’t always practice or script things out because you won’t know what the ensemble is going to do until they do it. The first times I conducted it was about how I was doing things.

Now it seems less about how but why I am showing what I am showing. Once I know why I am doing something, then I can focus on how I am going to show it and am I being convincing enough in getting my point across. Why comes first instead of how? Mind. Blown.

Not that the basics and how are not important, they are so important. Especially at the beginning. I defiantly needed to have mine fixed. My basic pattern was too big, my wrist and

74 baton position were (and still are) really band, and other things that I thought were good but in reality weren’t. I only needed that experience once to get me progressing at faster rate. Others still need it and that is okay. You can’t expect everyone to learn at the same pace all of the time.

And with so many of us in that class, it is hard to make sure everyone is progressing the way that they should. But that also falls on us, not just the teacher.

I don’t know, conducting is just so much more than beating time and having really good technique. You certainly need both. But the more music, phrasing, expressiveness, emotion you can show the better. The ensemble doesn’t need time, it’s what the percussion for. JK, kind of…

The teacher has been talking a lot about loving ourselves so that we can allow ourselves to love others. Because if you don’t love yourself, there will always be some kind of wall between you and your students. That wall can only be broken down by you. And if it isn’t broken, then you will never allow YOU to truly be yourself, emotional, open, someone that they need you to be for them. That hit me hard. I haven’t liked myself for a long time. And despite how easy it is for me to love others, I still keep up walls so that no one can get in. So that no one will ever know who I really am on the inside. It’s easy for me to hide behind these walls and to keep people arm’s length away from me. I’ve been doing that for more than two decades and

I’ve been okay, right?

But isn’t that good, I mean for my students? To keep the bad parts of myself away from them? I know that I’ve been through a lot in my life and that I will probably have students that will go through what I’ve gone through. As their teacher, I’m supposed to advocate for them. To be strong for them. To be stronger for them. Making music is great, but making strong, independent humans is what music is about to me. I mean if I had to tell a student what I had been through and what I did to help myself when no one would, I would tell them. I would do

75 anything I needed to if it meant saving their life. Like what my high school band director did for me. They noticed that I needed someone and fast. Their door was always open. They never told anyone what I told them. They never judged me. They only offered me advice and words of encouragement. They showed me how to use music, playing my instrument as a way to let all of my feelings and emotions out. Now that I am over all of that and completely fine now, I want to do that. I want to be like that for my students.

Oh God, what did I just write? How can I show my students how to let all of their feelings and emotions out if I can’t do that through my conducting?!?!? Is this what the teacher is talking about, is this what that means?!?!? Wow…MIND. BLOWN.

Whelp how about a night cap and some Sherlock? I think it’s time for something that won’t overload my puny, little brain. Geeze, 12:30am already? I better get started.

Final Entry. Whoa, has it really been eight weeks already? That went by pretty fast.

Wait, you mean I will have to find something else to do after 10:30pm on Friday or Saturday night ;-) JK, I am actually going to miss journaling and I have really enjoyed being part of this study.

Being part of this study has been helpful to me. Having someone else to watch my videos with me and pick through everything was extremely helpful. Especially to explain why I did what I did, whether it worked or not. If it wasn’t for this study, I probably wouldn’t have done any of that. Well I would’ve watched my video and evaluated myself because it’s required for the class, but not as detailed or as thorough. I probably wouldn’t have practiced as much either. I now have an okay weekly practice schedule and routine that work on both my basic and more advance, expressive techniques. I don’t know if I would have done that for myself if it wasn’t for this study.

76 But this study has really helped me progress in my conducting, especially expressively.

People keep coming up to me and ask, “What are you doing to get so good?” or say, “I love the way you conduct, I love watching you conduct!” I never know what to say to that. Well for one, I can’t say anything about what I am doing because of the study. But I don’t think I’m any better than anyone else. I don’t think I’m as good as they’re making me sound. I guess it is good to hear those nice things from your peers and friends.

But let me tell you how this study has helped me the most. As sappy and stupid as it sounds it’s helped me as person, especially emotionally. I’ve worked for a long time to guard myself. To not let anyone else in because of my incredibly dark past. I know that was a long time ago but that’s why I bottle things up, something my high school band director told me to stop doing. I have gotten a lot better since being in high school but that is why I am so selfless. I don’t want others to suffer like I did. I don’t want others to feel my pain. I want to forget my pain, so I focus others. I want to blend in, go unnoticed, just do what I am supposed to do and not draw any extra attention to myself. I lift up others so that I am not reminded about myself. Isn’t that what the world wants me to do? Be selfless, serve others, and be all about everyone else? There is no

“I” in team type shit?

This study has made me confront all of this. It’s reminded me why I am the person I am and that my past is the reason why I am incredibly strong. Taking the time to think about my past and how it influences the walls I put up, my conducting, and why I need to break these walls down will make me better. It already has made me a better conductor. But it’s really made me focus on me, make sure that I am right so that I can be right for everyone else. Hopefully it will make me a better teacher, because I can connect with them and show them that music will make everything okay.

77 Maybe the fact that we guard ourselves so much is the reason why expressivity is the elephant in the room everyone knows is there but everyone is afraid to talk about. Maybe the fear of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with our deepest and most intimate emotions puts up unnecessary walls. Walls between us and music. Walls between us and others. Walls between us and risk of exploring gesture. Walls between us and us. We all know that we do it. Yet we do nothing to build bridges between us, what we feel, and how to share this feeling with others. This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about.

I’ve heard people say that the conductor is the bridge between the ensemble and the audience. I used to think that this didn’t matter. That conducting was just moving your body through space, to tell the ensemble what to do and when to do it, to look fancy at a concert, to get recognition for the many hours of rehearsing. But conducting is more than just how to make music, it’s about why we make music. This is why ensembles need conductors. This is why people like me want to be conductors. Because we had conductors who’ve inspired us, who saved us from ourselves. And as conductors, if we hold onto our fears of being vulnerable and don’t acknowledge/tear down the walls that separate us from our students expressively, then we aren’t doing our job as conductors.

Now when I practice I try to focus more on why I am using a particular gesture, why I am melding this part of my pattern, why I am trying to get my left hand to do something other than an elevator crescendo. And I try to let the why lead me to how I am going to show. But let’s be honest here. I’m still at the beginning of my journey as a conductor and I still have tons to learn…about everything. But I’m still trying. I don’t see or hear about other people trying in this way. If it weren’t for this study, I probably wouldn’t be going about my conducting in this way.

78 I hope I can continue my progress through the end of this semester and into the next semester with advanced conducting. I guess only time will tell. Speaking of time…signing off for the last time at 11:30pm on a Saturday night. I’m sure I won’t have a hard time finding something else to do in the absence of journaling :-)

Epilogue

When you leave someone’s home, you probably have thoughts about what you saw.

Thoughts about how nice everything looked and how you didn’t have to do anything but just relax. Thoughts about how nice everyone was, how they were all great people, how good the food was, and how the libations really helped everyone have a good time. Thoughts about all the nice things they had, how they worked so hard at their jobs to afford such nice things, and how you wish you had these nice things. But you probably wonder more about what you didn’t see.

You wonder what was really in the room next to the upstairs bathroom, if they really kept all of their receipts and un-paid bills in organized drawers or were they scattered somewhere else, and where they really kept their home office. You wonder what they used for their make-up foundation, their hair spray, and how big their closet of name brand clothing really was. You wonder why the hosts were both constantly in and out of that room at the other end of the hall, why they always stood across the room from each other and never made eye contact with each other, and if all of the nice things you saw are just a facade for what was really going on when it’s just them. Different thoughts about two different spaces within one entity, by one beholder.

This journey of my experiences as a beginning conductor, through these two spaces, through my thoughts, has affirmed and assured me of why I want to be an expressive conductor.

Why I want to be an expressive conductor leads me to how I get there with my left hand, my face, and with something other than showing time. Expressive conducting is hard. Different

79 people struggle with different aspects of expressive conducting at different times in their lives.

This struggle is fueled by more personal insecurities then external noise. But we all go through it.

We all have to discover ways to filter out the noise of ourselves, so that we can be expressiveness and use our conducting to impact people. My voice, my thoughts are still a secret to me. But maybe they don’t have to be anymore. Acknowledging these secrets, these voices, and these thoughts have allowed me to be the teacher, the conductor, and the person I already was. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Right? Right.

80 Chapter 5 - Discussion, Implications, and Recommendations

Introduction

Every day I see people interact with music and physically express how music makes them feel (myself included). People walking to and from classes, headphones on, listening to music with a smile and an extra spunk to their step as they go from place to place. Students practicing their solo and/or ensemble music, gracefully moving their bodies with the music in a windowed practice room. Students practicing their conducting class excerpts, in a windowed practice room or in the student lounge, with controlled pattern size, appropriate dynamics, musically informed phrase shape, and facial expressions. I see people experiencing their own musical expressivity every single day without judgement or fear in the “privacy” of a practice space. Then why is it difficult for us to share these experiences while conducting? Why is it difficult to allow ourselves to physically express our musical intent when we have been doing it all of our lives? What is getting in the way of our own musical expressivity? Is it really because there is too much to learn in too little time? That beginning conducting students just struggle conducting expressively? Or is there somethings else going on here?

These observations lead me to believe that everyone (including beginning undergraduate conductors) intimately experiences musical expressivity but struggles to show it gesturally, the motivation to my research purpose and questions. Through an interpretivist lens, I wanted to explore the experiences of a beginning undergraduate conductor learning to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expression. Not only did the findings address the research questions of the study, they revealed other findings unique to participant’s development of conducting with expressivity.

81 First, findings as they relate to the research questions of the current study will be discussed. Next, discussion emerging findings beyond the research questions will occur. Then, implications and recommendations for future study will be offered. Finally, will be the researcher’s concluding thoughts.

Discussion of Findings: Research Questions

Research Question 1

When preparing for rehearsal without an audible stimulus, does the participant consider how they will gesturally express musical intentions during their upcoming in-class conducting experiences?

Jane used a variety of means as she considered how to gesturally express her musical discoveries in preparation for her upcoming in-class conducting experiences. She did extensive score study of her first and second in-class conducting excerpts. Using different colored highlighters, important entrances, releases, dynamics, phrase peaks, and melodic line movements were marked within her score. This marking process allowed Jane to easily follow her score while she conducted (Walker, 2013; Williamson, 1998). Planning her gestures based on her score markings, Jane “scripted” and practiced specific conducting gestures to expressively show her musical intentions (Boonshaft, 2006; Harris, 2001).

Many of these “scripted” gestures were first experienced in Jane’s beginning undergraduate conducting course (BUCC) through teacher-led tutorials and exercises. In addition to these hands-on experiences, Jane learned from watching her peers conduct. She took written and mental notes about what worked, what did not work, and what the teacher did to help her

BUCC peers. In her own preparation, Jane recalled these gestures, tried them for herself, and determined if they were appropriate for her and with what adjustments. This was one of the

82 strongest means through which Jane prepared for in-class conducting experiences. She took her observations and applied them to her conducting practice routine, developed mid-way through the study. This routine began with basic breathing, Elizabeth Green independence exercises, 4/4,

3/4, 2/4, and 6/8 pattern exercises, and dynamic/size exercises. Also incorporated to into this routine were advanced, expressive conducting exercises she took from watching others conduct in BUCC; moving her arms and wrist as if she were in a pool, waltzing, spinning a clay pot, and holding a large cannonball.

Aside from in-class conducting videos and practice routine, Jane used of a mirror and self-video feedback (phone, tablet, and computer) to make gestural considerations while she prepared for in-class conducting experiences. Jane also utilized the perception of her roommates to give feedback on her conducting gestures. These roommates, who were not trained musicians, were given simple concepts to look for changes in Jane’s pattern size, differentiation in facial expression, and fluidity of movement. These simple, outsider perspectives strongly influenced

Jane’s gestural considerations to what and how she physically expressed her musical intent during preparation of her upcoming in-class conducting experiences. “It seemed like a more real opinion because they had no idea what conducting was. So they just called it like they saw it.”

Jane’s overly critical assumptions of her conducting, coupled with her strong dislike of viewing her conducting videos, seemed to make her more receptive of an outsider’s opinion. Jane might have valued the opinions of an outsider more because of how much she doubted and fought herself. This need for outside assurance points to how an individual relies on the shaping and motivation of others to provide them context within a particular society (Meltzer, Petras, &

Reynolds, 2015). Jane’s collaboration with others to seek meaning derived from social interaction and interpretation through dealing with others supports Blumer’s (1969) second and

83 third assumption of symbolic interaction. One could also say that Blumer’s first assumption is confirmed because of how the second and third assumption influence how “human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that these things have for them” (p. 2).

During her preparation, Jane took the advice of her teacher and utilized score study, note taking, established a conducting practice routine, and pursued outside perspectives to develop considerations for gestures to show expressive and musical intent. This aligns and supports what existing literature finds to be helpful preparation techniques for beginning conductors (Silvey &

Baumgartner, 2016; Lisk, 2015; Silvey & Major, 2015; Walker, 2013; Jordan et al., 2011;

Silvey, 2011; Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009; Neidlinger, 2003; VanWeelden, 2002; Green, Harris,

2001; 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992; Battisti & Garofalo, 1990). Conducting teachers should consider differentiated methods of feedback for beginning conductors, as it seemed to help Jane understand her perceived gestures versus what everyone else saw. Though what she did in her own individual precreation was good, outside feedback helped Jane in ways that self-evaluation could not. This could include teacher to student, student to student, or student to outsider feedback.

Research Question 2

While conducting, to what extent does the participant recognize when expressive intent is achieved in their conducting gestures, the ensemble’s performance, and how do they respond to their observations?

Jane was able to recognize the BUCC ensemble’s response to her expressive gestures.

The scripted nature of Jane’s preparation informed her when the ensemble was or was not responding to her. The BUCC was only expected to conduct a limited number of excerpts per chapter. This allowed the ensemble to perform at a proficient level and for everyone in the

84 BUCC to become familiar with the excerpts they were required to conduct. This musical knowledge allowed Jane to script her expressive gestures with an expectation for the ensemble to respond to her musical intentions. When her expectations were or were not met, Jane made comments like, “When I would crescendo or decrescendo they kind of did it.”, “I was able to make more eye contact, smile, and give them facial expression. It seemed to help and afterwards they said it helped them.” and “I was able to lift them off of that note and it worked!” throughout her post-conducting interviews. This indicated that Jane had prior knowledge and expectations for musical intent conveyed through expressive gesture. This is sometimes viewed as a false assumption by conducting teachers (Lisk, 2015; Harris, 2001). Recognizing that students possess and bring their prior musical expectations to conducting class is necessary. Teachers who acknowledge their students’ prior expectations could be more successful in helping them connect existing musical intentions to expressive gesture more effectively and affectively.

During her second in-class conducting experience, Jane was asked to hold a cannonball and move it up or down to show phrase shape in place of her “elevator crescendo” as the BUCC ensemble played. Though it looked and felt weird to Jane at the time, she experienced a different and more audible response from the ensemble as they “are doing a thing in response to a thing I am doing with this cannonball.” For Jane to understand the difference between her perceived expressive gesture versus the realization of an audible response from the ensemble, the teacher had to verbally, visually, and physically demonstrate with her. This live, hands-on interaction connected Jane’s perceived expressive gestures to the ensemble’s realization of her gesture.

Experiences like this should be utilized more in beginning conducting courses and teachers should not hesitate to introduce expressive gestures to students during this process. The use of metaphors, visual references, and frequent hands-on conducting experiences already affirms

85 what already exists in the current literature (Jordan et al., 2011; Labuta, 2010; Bailey, 2009;

Boonshaft, 2006; Harris, 2001; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992). These type of interactions and experiences align with all three assumptions of symbolic interactionism

(Blumer, 1969) as well as enhances one’s musical vernacular (Reimer, 2005).

Jane’s response to these observations often resulted in critical self-talk. When she recognized that her expressive intent was not achieved, negative self-talk like “Oh shit, what am

I going to do now?”, “God that was dumb.”, and “Your breath wasn’t good and they didn’t come in on time.” would lead Jane to give up trying to show expressive gestures for the rest of her in- class conducting experience. Negative self-talk would continue like “Let’s just get this over with.” and “Conduct as boring as possible to not screw anything else up.” Jane would conduct strict time and only showed basic entrances and releases. The researcher observed and documented a clear demeanor change during field observations and video elicitation, as well as a digression back to showing basic, non-expressive gestures. There was no positive self-talk during

Jane’s first or second in-class conducting experiences. Jane’s self-diagnosed paralysis of her conducting supports a narrowed zone of proximal development (Radocy & Boyle, 2012). Like with her cannonball experience, prior hands-on guidance with expressive gesture could have allowed Jane to overcome her paralysis and limited negative self-talk.

Jane’s overly critical and competitive assumptions of her conducting, combined with her lack of confidence, could have played a role in allowing her of recognize the improvement and growth seen by her teacher. Her peers receiving more negative and constructive feedback could have planted a seed of predisposition within Jane, determining her experience even before getting on the podium. These actions were built by an account of Jane’s surroundings and guided her interpretation of their significance (Blumer, 1969). A few of these predispositions were;

86 failure to show expressive conducting gestures, what will happen when failure to show expressive conducting gestures occurs, judgement for failing to show expressive conducting gestures, and looking stupid and awkward when trying to show expressive gestures and/or facial expression. These predispositions surfaced throughout the study both in Jane and her peers, noted in the researcher’s field notes. The predispositions shared by Jane and her peers align with

Blumer’s (1969) belief in the importance of community and how social interactions within a community informs meaning and understanding within individuals. Reimer (2005) also acknowledges that individuals derive meaning and understanding based on their own perceptions of their environment. Conducting teachers should recognize the existence of these predispositions and find ways to counteract them within their classrooms, promoting confidence and recognition of improvement in their students rather than perpetuating self-fulfilling prophecies of critical and destructive self-doubt. This approach to teaching could also encourage a more positive self-concept and embodied meaning for conducting students (Thompson, 2015;

Sousa, 2011).

When Jane recognized that her expressive intent was achieved, positive self-talk like

“They really understood what I wanted to do.”, “There is resistance!”, and “She smiled back at me!” occurred. Her reaction during these moments of positive self-talk were followed by encouraging comments such as “Everything is going to be okay.” and “Things are going well.”

This encouragement gave Jane the confidence to pay less attention to herself, to be part of the ensemble, and to move more expressively and “look more like the music.” Referencing field notes, the researcher observed Jane conducting with a very relaxed demeanor. At this point in the study, Jane received more guided instruction, from the teacher and graduate teaching assistants, expressing her musical intent through her expressive gestures. This additional guidance allowed

87 her to show ebb and flow throughout her entire body and display a sense of genuine confidence that reflected the style of the music. Guided instruction and hands-on experience built Jane’s confidence, built her self-esteem, and ultimately lead to perceived success on the podium by her teacher and peers. “A person with few pretentions and great success will enjoy high self-esteem.

On the other hand, a person with many pretentions but little success will experience little self- esteem” (Meltzer et. al., 2015, pp. 6-7). Conducting teachers should consider more opportunities for students to experience success as early as possible in beginning conducting courses.

Establishment of self-esteem through early success could allow beginning conducting students to feel more comfortable, confident, and likely to explore their prior musical expectations and intent through expressive gesture; possibly accelerating the development of their expressive conducting by focusing on not only the individual but the community (Blumer, 1969).

Positive self-talk only occurred during her third in-class conducting experience. Jane’s recognition and response to how the ensemble responded to her expressive intent was always elaborated in her journal. It is possible that the nature of this situation did not allow a predisposition to formulate in Jane’s mind, allowing her to just demonstrate what she already knew instead of worrying about what people think she knows. The nature of this situation allowed Jane to “get out of her own head,” to focus more on listening and facially interacting with the ensemble, and to focus on how she was going to show expressive gestures rather than infatuate over how she was going to conduct poorly.

Research Question 3

After conducting an ensemble, how did the participant perceive expressivity exhibited through their conducting?

88 During the course of the study, Jane did not perceive expressivity exhibited through her conducting as something she was very good at nor successful in achieving while in front of the

BUCC instrumental ensemble. After Jane’s first two in-class conducting experiences, comments such as “My expressiveness wasn’t as good as it should have been.”, “I wasn’t expressive enough.”, and “I am not comfortable conducting expressively.” were frequently made during her first and second post-conducting interviews. These comments were almost always accompanied by statements like “The ensemble did not respond to my expressive gesture.”, “I didn’t do enough because the ensemble and teacher did not realize what I was trying to do.” and “I stopped trying to be expressive because I wasn’t comfortable.” These negative perceptions of

Jane’s expressive conducting, mainly as skills and referencing basic techniques, were further elaborated and reinforced in her journal entries. The combination of negative comments with considerations of how the ensemble responded to her conducting, revealed that Jane recognized the purpose of expressive gestures and an intention for ensemble response. These are positive observations at such an early stage of her training.

The first-time Jane journaled in detail about her expressive conducting was not until after her second in-class conducting experience, half-way through the study. Journals before this point mainly reflected on her technical conducting skills or would reference expressive conducting with no further elaboration. The researcher discovered that because Jane was frustrated with her inability to demonstrate basic conducting skills, it was hard for her to see anything positive from these experiences. This action towards Jane’s perception aligns with Blumer’s (1969) first assumption of symbolic interactionism. Her manifestation on basic conducting technique forced

Jane to only focus and act upon this idea, her lack of journaling in regard to expressive conducting and criticism for poor demonstration of basic conducting for example.

89 Positive thoughts regarding Jane’s perception of expressivity exhibited through her conducting surfaced after the third in-class conducting experience. During this experience, Jane was asked to conduct the BUCC vocal ensemble. This caught her off guard because she had not meet the expectations of harmonic score analysis and she had not researched the composer of the excerpt she was conducting. Despite her lack of mental preparation, Jane described this in-class experience as “the best I ever conducted.” She felt more relaxed, calm, and comfortable because she was not prepared, over practiced, or scripted with her conducting gestures. It is important to reveal Jane’s lack of mental preparation did not necessarily mean that she was not gesturally prepared to conduct. By this point in the study, Jane had developed a weekly conducting practice routine. She also chose a conducting excerpt with which she was more familiar. The teacher and her peers gave Jane positive feedback about her conducting technique but praised her more for the expressive conducting. This social interaction aligns with Blumer’s (1969) three assumptions of symbolic interactionism; meaning was interpreted, modified, and created through social interactions which Jane acted upon. Her journal after this experience was the first time Jane discussed her conducting expressivity, the last week of the study. Jane recognized this experience to be positive after gaining more experience conducting through her practice routine and extensive reflection. This engagement in her practice routine and reflection prepared Jane for this spontaneous in-class conducting experience, contributed to her feeling success, boosted self- esteem, and ability to “get out of her own head.”

In addition to the three research questions of the current study, other questions emerged from Jane’s experiences. Are there other considerations that could more sufficiently develop conducting expressivity in beginning conductors? Would a different perspective on the self- evaluation and the reflection process provide novice conductors another avenue to explore

90 expressive conducting specific to their needs? Could adjustments to existing conducting curriculum allow beginning conducting students different opportunities for musical development? These questions are addressed in the discussion of emerging findings not exclusively answered by research questions of the current study; self, conducting, and others.

Discussion of Findings: Emerging Findings

Self

Going into the study I anticipated that self, as a broad and general term, would surface at some point. Self is defined as “a person’s essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action” (Oxford Dictionaries,

2017). Throughout the course of the study, a remarkable amount of intimacy, emotion, identity, and past experiences organically surfaced through Jane’s interviews and journaling without probing. The depth and breadth of what Jane revealed left the researcher no choice but leave the title of this theme as broad as possible. The recurrence the theme self was frequent. There was not a single interview transcript or journal entry where Jane did not examine an intimate or emotional part of herself and/or her past experiences; her struggle with self-esteem and confidence, her past battles with depression, her past experiences with anxiety attacks leading to visits to the ER, and her past disputes with her father to vaguely name a few.

As time went on, Jane became more comfortable with revealing, acknowledging, and accepting these aspects of herself. Paralleling this recognition and acceptance of Jane’s self were improvements in her conducting. The following was taken from Jane’s exit interview:

Having someone with experience to debrief my conducting videos with, to talk to about

my conducting, and to ask questions has really helped me. All of the questions you asked

me helped me realize what I’ve been doing wrong and what I’ve been doing right. This

91 study has helped me more with expressiveness then my technique. Talking about myself

personally has helped me come to terms with some things. It’s been a lot easier recently

to conduct emotionally with expression then in the past. Journaling has forced me to

remember why I want to become a music teacher. Why I want to become an emotional

and expressive conductor. There is so much emotion in those journals. When I re-read

them, I am re-inspired to continue working on my conducting.

Jane demonstrated her best conducting one week before this excerpt was recorded. Two weeks before this conducting experience, Jane’s BUCC switched from an instrumental to a choral teacher. Since that time, the choral teacher had multiple discussions about “being able to love yourself.” The teacher emphasized that someone cannot love their students unless they love themselves, that there would always be “some kind of wall you won’t be able to break down, and that those walls will prevent you from being expressive and open with your students.” After hearing for the first time, Jane journaled:

This hit me hard. Because I haven’t really liked myself for who knows how long but I’ve

always been able to love others. Then it hit me, that I always keep walls up regardless of

my love or affection towards people.

Jane’s next journals contained thoughts similar to this and unpacked more intimate details about her past and how they might be preventing her from allowing herself to conduct expressively

(that of which cannot be shared further because of confidentiality).

It could have been possible that Jane was able to break through some of her walls; walls that forced her to create predispositions, that forced her to infatuate over her conducting flaws, that harbored frustration, animosity, and competition towards her peers, walls that trapped her from being able to realize her potential through expressive gesture. The use of journaling, as a

92 means of reflection and as a way to explore her subjectivities, could have allowed her to break down these walls (Bhattacharya, 2012; Harris, 2001). This could explain the sudden prevalence in positive self-talk, confidence, and being comfortable conducting an ensemble.

Conducting

Jane brought attention to the idea of teaching basic conducting through advance conducting concepts.

Instead of just focusing so much basic conducting, I think having us work more advanced

conducting skills, like phrasing, expression, and dynamics, would help us better

understand both concepts. I know basics are important but that’s not the goal. Expressive

music is the goal and you can’t show that with beating time in a four pattern or

mastering fractional-beat preparation.

This idea surfaced during a conversation about her studio lessons during Interview 3.

In high school, all we focused on were notes. “We can’t do anything until we get all of

the notes and fingers!” my high band director would say. But now I’m told to work on

everything. And if some of the basics aren’t there, at least your phrase and dynamics are

there. If your basics aren’t good, then the music isn’t good. But focusing on just the

basics won’t make the music better. You need the bigger picture first.

Jane pondered if the reason why her peers were struggling in BUCC was because they were focusing too much on their basic technique and not the bigger picture. Jane journaled about how her peers might still be too much in their own heads, like she was. After a few weeks, she questioned whether these peers practiced or cared about their progress in the class.

93 Others

Through the course of the study, Jane revealed how others have had and continue to have an influence on her. The most important were Jane’s family, her high school band director, and her friends. Jane’s family (mother in particular) as well as her high school and college friends have and continue to support her as she pursues her dream of becoming a high school band director. This inspiration came from her high school band director who “literally saved my life.”

He was the first person to show Jane how to use music “as a way to let all of my feelings and emotions out.” As a result:

I want to a band director so I can teach kids how to make music. To show kids that music

can be so much more than it looks from the outside. If I can inspire a kid to become a

musician, to give them something when they feel like they have nothing, to inspire them to

realize that their life is still worth living, my life is complete. That’s what was done for

me and it’s my turn to pay it forward. If I can show my students this through my

conducting, I can connect with them differently than with words. Like my high school

band director did with me.

These memories of Jane’s high school band director are what motivates her to conduct as expressively as possible.

This drive also created a considerable amount of internal frustration, animosity, and competition towards two types of people in her BUCC. Jane frequently voiced her frustration about people who “couldn’t figure it out.”

Oh my God, we’ve hear this so many times already. 50 people conducted and 50 people

were talked to about the same mistakes. I know that everyone is different and no one is

perfect but you would have thought that people would have gotten better by now. Why

94 haven’t people figure this out yet? I mean you want to be a teacher, right? You need to

figure this out.

Towards the beginning of the study Jane would sympathize and empathize with these types of people, her peers who struggled with basic conducting skills, as she was one of them. Towards the end of the study, she showed no compassion for their conducting deficiencies. Jane struggled to understand how and why people were struggling with basic conducting techniques, techniques that she “only needed corrected once. If I can get it, why can’t they?” This frustration with her peers assured Jane that she was progressing well and that she needed to worry about herself and her own conducting.

Jane showed a great deal of animosity towards people who “know everything.” These people came off as “annoying,” “dicks,” and “assholes” when they are on the podium.

They think they are as great as conducting as they are at life I guess. You can get a sense

that the rest of the ensemble is thinking, “Oh God, here we go.” You are in a beginning

conducting class. You are not going to be awesome, you are here to learn.

When these types of people conducted in BUCC, Jane created a very perilous competitiveness within herself. These types of people would also receive praise from the BUCC teacher. This infuriated Jane even more. Despite how frustrated and malice she was towards these two types of people, Jane still wanted to see how they did on the podium, what kinds of feedback they would receive from the teacher, and kept note of what she should or should not in her own preparation.

This competitiveness, based on the failure and success of her peers, also promoted self-doubt within Jane, compounding her frustrations throughout the course of the study.

95 Implications and Recommendations

Implications

Implications drawn from findings of the current study could have the following implications for instructing beginning undergraduate conducting courses.

Guided Video Elicitation. With the magnitude of information BUCC’s expect students to comprehend, guided video elicitation and questioning could positively influence beginning undergraduate conductors as they learn and develop their considerations and skills of expressive conducting. This periodic guidance, provided by a more experienced conductor in a one-on-one setting, could occur at strategic moments within a BUCC curriculum. This outside perspective could help increase perceived awareness, accelerate the development of expressive gestures, and help manage the overwhelming amount of information beginning undergraduate conductors encounter. This environment could also empower beginning undergraduate conductors to safely engage in dialogue about expressive conducting and receive individualized feedback regarding their expressive conducting gestures.

Journaling. Journaling could provide an outlet for beginning undergraduate conductors to reflect on their subjectivities as they learn and develop their considerations and skills of expressive conducting. An individual’s mind can become a crowed, overly cynical, and an inhibiting place. The mind of a beginning undergraduate conductor is especially crowded with amount of content presented in a BUCC and all of the emotions that come with sifting through this information. Providing a means for beginning undergraduate conductors to navigate their internal quandaries could help beginning undergraduate conductors interrogate and come to terms with themselves (Bhattacharya, 2012; Harris, 2001). This acceptance of self could help reduce the amount of self-talk and allow students to get out of their own heads. This could allow

96 beginning undergraduate students a means of breaking down internal walls that inhibit them from realizing their actual potential on the podium.

Discussing Expressive Conducting. When asked if Jane discusses expressive conducting with her peers or friends, Jane said “No, I don’t know why we don’t talk about it.”

Considering what goes on in one’s mind while they conduct expressively, it could be helpful to have opportunities for beginning undergraduate conductors to discuss their thoughts with one another. Similar to journaling, discussing expressive conducting with others could help one discover assurance that they are not the only one’s struggling (Lisk, 2015; Harris, 2001). This discussion could cultivate a more collaborative learning environment, instill a sense of community, and reduce the amount of frustration, animosity, and competiveness suppressed against peers.

Teaching Advanced Conducting to Learn Beginning Conducting Skills. There is no shortage of literature that supports the instruction of beginning conducting skills as a means of developing advanced, expressive conducting techniques (Lisk, 2015; Walker, 2013; Labuta,

2010; Bailey, 2009; Karlsson, 2008; Harris, 2001; Green, 1997; Hunsberger & Ernst, 1992).

What if advanced, expressive conducting techniques were taught right away to beginning undergraduate conductors? Is it possible to teach fundamental, basic conducting skills within an advanced context of phrasing, facial expressions, and dynamics? Could learning a broader, more advanced idea help strengthen the basic skills needed attain and understand the broader idea? Or maybe a combination of all of these inferences could help beginning undergraduate conductors learn and develop their considerations and skills of expressive conducting? Starting with the bigger picture could help manage the amount of information that is presented BUCC students.

97 Recommendations for Future Study

Further researcher is needed to discover more accessible approaches that could allow beginning undergraduate conductors to learn to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expressivity. The findings of this study suggest the following recommendations for future study:

• A replication of the current study involving more than one participant. This study

identified the unique usefulness of video elicitation, guided post-conducting questioning

and discussion, and journaling to Jane. It would be interesting to observe how the design

of the current study could influence other beginning undergraduate conductors with

differing perspectives and past experiences.

• A replication of the current study that would follow a participant(s) through the entirety

of their BUCC. The current study was conducted through only eight weeks of Jane’s

BUCC. Observing how a participant(s) over a longer period of time, utilizing the design

of the current study, could provide more insight to enhancing existing BUCC

curriculums.

• A replication of the current study that would follow a participant(s) beyond their BUCC.

Observing how a participant(s) utilizes the design of the current study through their

advanced undergraduate conducing course, student teaching, and first years of teaching,

could provide more long-term insight to how students learn and develop their expressive

conducting considerations and skills. This insight could better inform BUCC curriculums

and help prepare BUCC students.

• Studies that examine the incorporation of guided video elicitation, journaling, and/or

open discussion of expressive conducting within an existing BUCC curriculum. This

98 integration could be a simple enhancement to an already established BUCC curriculum

and could greatly benefit BUCC students.

• Studies that examine the incorporation of teaching advanced conducting techniques to

learn beginning conducting skills. Starting at a different perspective, the end goal, could

help develop basic conducting skills in ways that traditional BUCC curriculums do not.

• Studies that examine how discovering, reflecting, and integrating one’s subjectivities

could influence the research question presented in the current study.

Concluding Thoughts

This study might not have discovered a “textbook” way of addressing expressive conducting from a technical standpoint, revealed an unknown method of moving through space more expressively, or given crystal clear answer to how and why beginning undergraduate conductors struggle with expressive conducting. It did shed light on a known aspect of humanity that could be used unlock our ability to conduct more expressively; one’s self. This study has convinced me that the more we ask ourselves what makes us human, the more expressive and musical we will become. To be human is to be musical, the two cannot be separated (Blacking,

1973).

I often struggle with the amount of secrecy musicians surround expressivity with.

Generally speaking, we have the technical side of music down; energizing sound with

strong and focused air, using metronome and/or a drone while practicing, pursing

rhythmic and pitch precision, performing with correct articulation and dynamics, and the

list goes on and on. We have absolutely no problem being accusatory, harsh, or down

right insensitive to: those who try to be expressive with music, those who try to be

expressive and fail we criticize, those who try too hard to be expressive in efforts to not

99 fail we criticize, those who we perceive to show no expressiveness we criticize, those who talk about being expressive before technical proficiency is mastered we criticize. We are all experts at being critical of expressiveness yet we all struggle to talk about it. Like really talk about it. Why do we guard our deepest, most intimate musical moments? Why do we assume that no one wants to hear our story, no one will understand because it’s personal, or you aren’t ready to hear this story, you can’t even play your instrument.

Why would we rather not talk about it instead of trying to discover ways to share what we know everyone knows?

I think that because of these criticisms, assumptions, walls, and fears within us, we fail as teachers, conductors, and people. If we cannot share our feelings with others, how can we expect ourselves to collaborate and contribute to a group, an ensemble, a community? How can we expect others to perform expressively if we do not do the same in our physical gesture? As musicians, conductors, people, I believe we are great with the how but really struggle with why. What if we started rehearsals with the deep and intimate why we create, perform, and respond to music instead and NOT the technical and mundane how to create, perform, and respond to music? Could this motivate the pursuit of music differently and more expressively? So that we don’t have to beat the notes out of our ensembles? So that we establish a community and culture of people collaborating together instead of a room full of robots with individually programed flaws that we tireless try to de-bug for an eternity? Is the real reason why beginning undergraduate conductors struggle?

Maybe the fact that we guard ourselves so much is the reason why expressivity is the elephant in the room everyone knows is there but everyone is afraid to talk about.

100 Maybe the fear of allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with our deepest and most intimate emotions puts up unnecessary walls; between us and music, between us and others, between us and the risk of exploring gesture, between us and us. We all know that we do it yet we do nothing to build bridges between us, what we feel, and how to share with others. We should just go for it. Not for us but because music and humanity needs us to.

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110 Appendix A - Email Solicitation

Good afternoon!

My name is Alex Wimmer and I am a PhD candidate in the College of Education at a Midwestern University. I am also a one of the graduate teaching assistants with the Midwestern University bands.

I will be conducting a study that examines the experiences of an undergraduate music student conducting with expressivity in their beginning conducting class. Based on the roster provided by your instructors, you are currently enrolled in Beginning Undergraduate Conducting Course (BUCC) for the Fall of 2016. The participant in this study would go through BUCC as anyone else would with the exception of participating in ten-thirty minute interviews from September- November 2016.

If you would like the opportunity to participate in this study and have an influence on how conducting with expressivity is approached in music education, please reply to this email by 12:30pm on Friday, September 9th, 2016. Of those who reply, I will randomly select the participant by using a random number generator. Once the participant has been selected, I will contact everyone who expressed interest in the study to notify you regarding your participation. Again, your participation is completely voluntary and you would only have to commit to ten- thirty minute interviews outside of class.

If you are interested in being a participant, please contact me at [email protected].

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely,

----- Alex Wimmer Graduate Assistant, Midwestern University Bands PhD Candidate, College of Education Midwestern University [email protected] (555) 555-5555

111 Appendix B - Informed Consent

112

113

114 Appendix C - Cooperating Instructor Protocol

The current study requires the researcher to observe their participant as they experience Beginning Undergraduate Conducting Course (BUCC) from September 7, 2017 – November 7, 2017. To protect the confidentiality of the participant, the BUCC professor must not mention or elude to the researcher, the study, or any potential participants.

Because the researcher is a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) for BUCC, the cooperating instructor must be comfortable allowing the researcher to possess dual roles. This includes but is not limited to the following: • Allowing the researcher to send a solicitation email to the BUCC roster through Midwestern University email to encourage participation in the current study. • Allowing the researcher to read the solicitation email aloud during class on September 7, 2016 to encourage participation in the current study. • Allowing the researcher to coordinate with other BUCC GTAs to cover the duties of the researcher throughout the duration of the study to ensure confidentiality of the participant. • Allowing the researcher to utilize a laptop or iPad to document field observations. • Allowing the researcher to position themselves around the classroom to observe the participant without drawing attention to the researcher or a potential participant.

No other liberties or adjustments will need to be made by the cooperating instructor. If the cooperating instructor agrees to this protocol, please give written consent below.

______Printed Name of Instructor #1

______Signed Name of Instructor #1 Date

______Printed Name of Instructor #2

______Signed Name of Instructor #2 Date

115 Appendix D - Data Collection Timeline

Date: Description of Activity: Participant’s Role:

Week 1: Sept. 4 – 10 *Have IRB approved *None Rapport Interview *Meet with the BUCC professor *None to discuss study protocol *Finalize study procedures *None *Obtain emails of BUCC *None students for solicitation email *Print consent/IRB forms *None *Sept. 6-Send solicitation email *None for potential participant *Sept. 9-Randomly select *None participant from potential participant pool *Contact selected participant via *Respond/agree to email/setup Introduction Introduction Email date Interview date *Conduct Introduction Interview *Answer questions asked by the researcher *Journaling *None

Week 2: Sept. 11 – 17 *Meet with participant to *Sign IRB/consent Interview 1 complete IRB/consent documents, secure deadlines, documentation, discuss ask questions about the study participant’s role in study *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC *Conduct Interview 1 *Answer questions asked by the researcher *Journaling *Journaling

Week 3: Sept. 18 – 24 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 2 (Post-Cond 1) *Conduct Interview 2 (Post- *Answer questions asked by Conducting 1) the researcher *Transcribe Introduction *None Interview *None *Transcribe Interview 1 *Journaling about *Journaling Conducting Round 2

Week 4: Sept. 25 – Oct. 1 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 3 *Conduct Interview 3 *Answer questions asked by the researcher *Transcribe Interview 2 *None *Journaling *Journaling

116 Week 5: Oct. 2 – 8 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 4 *Conduct Interview 4 *Answer questions asked by the researcher *Transcribe Interview 3 *None *Journaling *Journaling

Week 6: Oct. 9 – 15 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 5 (Post Cond 2) * Conduct Interview 5 (Post- *Answer questions asked by Conducting 2) the researcher *Transcribe Interview 4 *None *Journaling *Journaling about Conducting Round 2

Week 7: Oct. 16 – 22 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 6 *Conduct Interview 6 *Answer questions asked by *BUCC Instrumental the researcher Portion Ends *Transcribe Interview 5 *None *Journaling *Journaling

Week 8: Oct. 23 – 29 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 7 *Conduct Interview 7 *Answer questions asked by *BUCC Choral Portion the researcher Begins *Transcribe Interview 6 *None *Journaling *Journaling

Week 9: Oct. 30 – Nov. 5 *Observe participant in class *Participate in BUCC Interview 8 (Post Cond 3) * Conduct Interview 8 (Post- *Answer questions asked by Conducting 3) the researcher *Transcribe Interview 7 *None *Journaling *Journaling about Conducting Round 3

Week 10: Nov. 6 – 12 *Transcribe Interview 8 *None Exit Interview *Journal *None *Last Week of Interviews

Week 11: Nov. 13 – 19 *First cycle coding analysis *None *Give transcripts to participant *Review transcripts via USB flash drive for review *Schedule Member Check 1 *Agree to Member Check 1 date *Collect participant journals *Provide journals *Journal *None

117 Week 12: Nov. 20 – 26 *First cycle coding analysis *None *Journal *None

Week 13: Nov. 27 – Dec. 3 *First cycle coding analysis *None *Member Check 1 *Report adjustments to transcripts *Journal *None

Dec. 4 – Mar. 11 *Finish first, second, and third *None *2nd child born during this cycle coding analysis time. Data analysis was *Data adjustments *None delayed. *Journal *None

Mar. 12 – 18 *Narrative composition *None *Give narrative to participant via * Review narrative USB flash drive for review *Journal *None *Schedule Member Check 2 *Agree to Member Check 2 date

Mar. 19 – 25 *Member Check 2 *Report adjustments to narrative

Mar. 26 – May 15 *Finalize write up of data *None *Give transcripts to participant *Review narrative via USB flash drive for review *Schedule Member Check 3 *Agree to Member Check 3 date

May 29 – June 2 *Member Check 3 *Report adjustments to narrative *Debriefing *Ask remaining questions regarding study

118 Appendix E - Interview Protocol

The researcher will conduct a total of ten conversational, semi-structured interviews and three member check meetings throughout the duration of the study. The format and details regarding each interview is listed below:

Introduction Interview (1-Interview Total): • Purpose: Meet one another, establish a relationship. • Place: Room 555 • Duration: 30 minutes • Interview Type: Conversational/Semi-Structured • Guiding Questions: Tell me about yourself. Describe your past music experiences up until this point. Describe your understanding about conducting. Why do you want to be a conductor? Describe to me your understanding regarding conducting to elicit expressivity. Why is eliciting expressivity important while conducting?

Non-Conducting Interview Protocol (5-Interviews Total): • Purpose: Review the most recent BUCC experience • Place: Room 555 • Duration: 30 minutes • Interview Type: Semi-Structured/Structured • Guiding Questions: How would you describe your most recent in-class conducting experience? Describe how peer interactions influenced your most recent in- class conducting experience. Describe how past experiences influenced your most recent in- class conducting experience. Elicit conversation about how peer interactions, musical (audible, print) interactions, and past experiences will inform future conducting. What did this most recent in-class conducting experience reveal? How will you prepare for the next conducting experience?

Post-Conducting Interview Protocol (3-Interviews Total): • Purpose: Review the most recent BUCC in-class conducting experience • Place: Room 555 • Duration: 30 minutes • Interview Type: Semi-Structured/Structured • Guiding Questions: How would you describe your most recent in-class conducting (prior to elicitation) experience? How would you describe your feeling immediately before and immediately after your most recent conducting experience?

119 Were you prepared for your most recent in-class conducting experience? How would you describe the technical aspects of your most recent in-class conducting experience? How would you describe the expressive aspects of your most recent in-class conducting experience? Describe how peer interactions influenced your most recent in- class conducting experience. Describe how musical (audible, print) interactions influenced your most recent in-class conducting experience. Describe how past experiences influenced your most recent in- class conducting experience.

(during elicitation) Allow the participant to say what comes to mind.

(post elicitation) Unpack elicited statements as necessary. Tell me about your reaction. Elicit conversation about how peer interactions, musical (audible, print) interactions, and past experiences will inform future conducting. What did this most recent in-class conducting experience reveal to you? How will you prepare for the next conducting experience?

Exit Interview Protocol (1-Interview Total): • Purpose: Recap their conducting experience in BUCC as a participant of the study, collect journals, and schedule a time to member checks. • Place: Room 555 • Duration: 30 minutes • Interview Type: Conversational/Semi-Structured • Guiding Questions: Describe your thoughts regarding participation in this study. Did you feel you improved as a technical conductor? Did you feel you improved as an expressive conductor? Describe how felt study aided in your development as an expressive conductor?

Member Check Protocol (3-Meetings Total): • Purpose: Member check and receive feedback about the study • Place: Room 555 • Duration: 30 minutes • Interview Type: Conversational/Semi-Structured • Guiding Questions: Did I earn your trust in publishing my findings? What feedback would you like to give regarding the study?

120 Appendix F - Beginning Undergraduate Conducting Course Self-

Evaluation Form

BUCC Conducting Evaluation Self-Evaluation Form Unsatisfactory Average Superior

Preparatory 1 2 3 4 5 Posture, Stance, & Presence Hand, Arm, & Baton Position/Grip Beginning (eye contact, breathe) Proper Tempo/Style Ictus/Rebound

Beat Patterns 1 2 3 4 5 Accuracy & Clarity Ictus/Rebound Conducting Field Appropriate Style

Prep & Release 1 2 3 4 5 Hand/Baton Position Appropriate Style Clear & Concise Effectiveness

Left Hand 1 2 3 4 5 Independence/Appropriate Use Style Dynamics/Phrasing Cues

Fractional Beat Preps 1 2 3 4 5 Clear/Concise Effectiveness Hand/Arm/Baton Position

Divided Meters 1 2 3 4 5 Clear Pattern Size/Style of Pattern Icuts (Major/Minor)

121 Interpretation 1 2 3 4 5 Appropriate Style/Displays Musical Sensitivity Phrasing Shape & Contour Appropriate Use of Dynamics/Tempo Alterations Musical Intent Through Non-Verbal Gestures/Facial Expressions

Fermata 1 2 3 4 5 Proper Duration/Appropriate Releases No Caesura Short Caesura Long Caesura

Preparation & Rehearsal 1 2 3 4 5 Demonstrates Knowledge of Score Eye Contact Identification & Correction of Musial Problems Efficient Use of Time (Pacing)

Overall Effectiveness 1 2 3 4 5 Non-Verbal Communication Musicality

Conductor______Date______

Selections______Evaluator______

Grade______/ 40

122 Appendix G - Field Observation Template

FIELD OBSERVATION TEMPLATE

Date: Time: Participant Identifier: BUCC Instructional Focus:

Notes:

123 Appendix H - Debriefing Statement

Thank you for your participation in this study on the experiences of a student as they learn to conduct and develop their considerations and skills of conducting to elicit expression in their beginning undergraduate conducting course. Ten interviews, three member check meetings, field observations, and journal reflections were collected and analyzed for this study. The goal of this data collection was to gather information regarding the student as they experienced conducting with expressivity during their beginning undergraduate conducting course. Through the information gathered in the interviews, themes about these experiences were developed. Some themes identified as a result of this research includes: self, conducting, and others.

Final results will be available from the researcher, Alexander Minh Wimmer, by (DATE). You may contact me at [email protected] to receive an email copy of the final report. Your participation, including your name and responses, will remain absolutely confidential and any identifiable markers will be fictionalized, even if the report is published.

If you would like to talk to someone other than the researcher, you are encouraged to contact my professor: Dr. Frederick Burrack, [email protected]. Also, you may contact the Kansas State University Institutional Revew Board: Dr. Rick Scheidt, Chair Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects. He is located in 203 Fairchild Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 and the telephone number is 785-532-3224.

124